


The Fall of an Empire

by MissOh



Series: Sheep Among Wolves [4]
Category: EXO, EXO (Band), G.Soul, K-R&B
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Depression, Drugs, Established Relationship, If You Squint - Freeform, Implied Sexual Content, It's gonna hurt, Just Spicy, M/M, Mafia AU, Mild Language, No Smut, OT12 - Freeform, Some Fluff, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Violence, Xiudaddy, You Have Been Warned, mafia, relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 06:36:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12270906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissOh/pseuds/MissOh
Summary: Theconsequencesof choices the Wu family made seven years ago are finally catching up to them.This is part four in the Sheep Among Wolves series. It is highly suggested you read the series in order to avoid spoilers.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Look, fam. I'm just gonna level with you. This is your trigger warning for the entirety of this work. Allow me to point at the mature rating and remind you of it. While the level of "sexual content" will remain the same, so no worries there, I am going to essentially push the limits of other areas in the mature rating. At least more so than I have before. So, if you are sensitive to violence, drugs, and even depression.. This is your warning. 
> 
> Or it could be fine and I'm treating you all like little lambs when you are not little lambs. But, I'd rather get this outta the way. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy it either way ;]

The city settled itself into a routine, as did the Wu family. No one dared to test them, so they were given a relative peace. Sure, sometimes scuffles happened, but it was few and far between. Lay often times found himself bored, but he was thankful to feel this way. Being bored meant his family was not injured and safe. Kris was forced to hire some nurses and some anesthesiologists to help Lay when it came to surgery, but more often than not they went to their “break room,” and would sit around on their phone. Not that Lay minded, what else was there to do? Although, once a day he did call them to help him sterilize the room they turned into an operating room. 

In fact, Kris turned the east half of the first floor of the mansion into a hospital, essentially. Now should anyone get wounded, they could still have the comfort of being in their home. The others would also get the nice feeling of security since the wounded could be under their watch more easily.

Typically Lay was lurking around the “medical wing” of the mansion as they all now called it. Sure, he had his own office now. But, he was never really there, unless Suho could take time out of his day to spend time with Lay, then the couple would be in Lay’s office. Otherwise, he was typically with the nurses, wanting to spend time with them, even if they were all silent. He knew the importance of having a bond with the people you worked with in this kind of field.

But, now, Lay was in the dining hall with the others, enjoying supper. Jongdae was not with them, but it was not strange for members of the family to be missing during dinner due to work. So, everyone was carrying on with their conversations. At the moment Sehun was sitting across from Kai, trying to dig out wedding dates from him. A few were listening in on them while others were either focused on their food or on their own conversations.

Lay was working on the prime rib on his plate. But, there was something strange in the air, a tension he hasn’t felt in a long time. So, he looked up from his food to look at everyone on the table. Everyone seemed to be doing as well as they usually were. Okay, well.. Kai was getting visibly frustrated with Sehun’s constant prodding. Perhaps that was the problem.

Then Lay saw Xiumin. 

Xiumin was looking at his phone, his meal completely untouched. He was typing on his phone and sat it on the table, tapping the table with his fingers in clear agitation. But, concern was written on his face. A little bit would pass and he would check his phone and then sit his phone back down, pursing his lips together.

“Xiumin..?” Lay’s voice spoke up, and everyone for some reason stopped their conversations. Maybe it was because of Lay’s softer tone that he typically took on when he was in a “caretaker” position. It was also then that he felt one of Suho’s hands go to rest on his knee under the table, immediately sensing his unease.

Xiumin looked up at Lay, but did not say anything. So, Lay took it as his cue to continue speaking. “Where’s Jongdae..?” Lay was scared to ask the question. Especially considering how irritated Xiumin looked.

“He went out to make his rounds on the streets as usual.. I think he was visiting the kids on the streets tonight.” Xiumin was somewhat quiet and seemed like his thoughts were elsewhere. For a moment the only sound was Xiumin’s fingers drumming on the wooden table.  
“He’s not replying to you, though. Is he?” Lay was careful in how he spoke, afraid of setting off Xiumin’s temper.  
“He’s probably busy. It happens.” Xiumin reasoned as he let out a deep breath. Xiumin’s eyes looked down at his food before he poked at it and tried to eat some to distract everyone else from his obvious concern. 

It was eerily quiet in the room as everyone watched Xiumin. The silenced lasted for probably about a full minute while Lay tried to focus on Suho’s ever reassuring hand instead of the tension in the air.

“Do you want us to go look for him?” Chanyeol’s voice spoke up and it caused Xiumin to look up from his plate.  
“I’m sure he’s fine. Just.. Paranoid.” Xiumin looked back as his food, trying to show everyone that he was fine. But, they all understood him one way or another. Everyone at the table has experienced the dread of potentially losing their lover to their violent lifestyle.  
“Well, either way, I’m going to have people on the lookout for him and let me know if they see him.” Luhan said as he put his phone back into his pants pocket, clearly having sent a text message from it. If Lay was forced to make an assumption, he would guess that Luhan sent out a mass text to all of his contacts. So, all eyes in the city would be looking for Jongdae.

Xiumin didn’t respond to Luhan, but he gave him a curt nod before he tried to focus on his food once again. He was trying to eat, but Lay could see he was more so forcing himself to rather than want to. It was then that Lay looked away to look at Suho. Suho met his gaze with pursed lips and squeezed his knee. There was nothing the pair could do, so Suho naturally went to try and reassure Lay, but it was hard to ignore that even Suho was nervous now.

Everyone managed to finish their meal in an uneasy silence.

This was when Xiumin finally decided to try calling Jongdae. Everyone acted as if they were lingering around to make conversation, but they were all so quiet and trying to listen in. Well, except for Kris whose entire focus was blatantly on Xiumin. 

The call seemed to only ring for a long time. But, it must’ve answered because Xiumin looked relieved. “Jongdae, where the hell-”

Xiumin’s voice dropped off as his expression hardened, his eyes growing rageful. Lay assumed that Jongdae was making some terrible unbelievable excuse and probably did something stupid. 

“Xiumin of the Wu family.” 

It was then that everyone’s face either fell or took a cold turn. Xiumin would not need to identify himself if Jongdae was answering. “ _Kai._ ” Chanyeol spoke as he abruptly stood up from the table, looking at the assassin who stood up upon hearing his name. Baekhyun quickly joined the pair as they began to exit the room. No one needed to ask to know they were going to go get their weapons. 

\-----

“Jongdae~” The little girl was holding onto the sleeve of Jongdae’s longsleeved gray shirt and was tugging him out of the abandoned warehouse that many of the orphan children were taking up shelter in.  
“Honey, why don’t we stay here? Your food is going to get cold. Eat, then we can play. Alright?” Jongdae used a tone of parent, which he usually did when the children he visited were acting out. But, he did bring them all warm food from the mansion. Many were eager to eat, but this little girl only wanted to play tag with Jongdae.

“Please! Just one round!! Then I promise I will eat, okay??” The little girl whined as she tugged Jongdae with all of her might. But, quickly she stopped to flash some puppy eyes at Jongdae.  
“ _One round._ ” Jongdae gave in, but tried to keep a firm voice with her.  
“I promise!” The girl let go of Jongdae’s sleeve and giggled as she ran off out of the warehouse. Jongdae let out a soft sigh before he went to chase off after her. 

The little shit was faster than Jongdae thought she was. He was struggling to keep up with her as they ran along the older industrial parts of the city outskirts. After about fifteen minutes of nonstop running she ran into another warehouse that was in much worse shape than the ones the other children were currently in. With an internal groan, Jongdae ran into the the warehouse after her.

He could have never expected the bat that came around and knocked into the side of his head with enough force for Jongdae to immediately drop to the ground, the world blurry and a loud ringing in his ears as his brain tried to form some kind of coherent thought. His eyes were a dead stare ahead as he tried to process the sight ahead of him. He saw a figure step over him with the bat in one hand as it approached the little girl. The figure leaned over and passed off what looked like a handful of cash off to the girl. 

The figure turned back to Jongdae as the girl ran off and out of the warehouse. It was then that Jongdae’s eyes rolled back into his head as he lost consciousness. 

\--

It wasn’t much longer before Jongdae woke up, lying on the floor in the warehouse as a mean headache made him wince and groan.

“You’re awake. Good.” A bassy, yet smooth, voice spoke up. Jongdae’s vision was still blurred as he opened his eyes to look up at the man standing in front of him with a baseball bat. Jongdae went to respond, but could only groan in this moment.

There was a chuckle from the figure as Jongdae pushed himself up to at least be on his knees, despite feeling a little wobbly. “Let’s play a little game, shall we?” The still blurry figure asked.  
“That’s what got me into this...” Jongdae muttered, still hearing the ringing in his ears. The stranger ignored him as he approached anyways, the bat swinging in his hands.

“Raise your hand _iffff_... You’ve been beaten with a bat before.” The man asked as he stood in front of the kneeling Jongdae. Jongdae didn’t respond immediately, but he felt as if he couldn’t due to the way his brain was still trying to “wake up.” His head actually lulled down, his dark bangs that previously were styled up and out of face fell onto his forehead and over his eyes, as Jongdae tried to keep his consciousness. So, the stranger put the bat under Jongdae’s chin and lifted up so that it forced Jongdae to look up at him with half lidded eyes. 

“Does the blow to the head earlier count..?” Jongdae murmured as he tried to make out some features on the man. But, all he saw was the white button up he was wearing and dark pants.  
“Hmmm… No.”  
“Then I haven’t.” 

Suddenly the bat left from under Jongdae’s chin, causing Jongdae’s head to drop and he just barely caught himself with his hands before he hit the ground face first. The man meanwhile slowly walked around behind Jongdae as he struggled to sit back up on his knees. “Have you… Ever beaten someone with a bat??” The man asked and Jongdae once more took a while as he tried to process the question, everything still hazy. 

Slowly, his right hand rose up, wanting to play his little game and get it over with. 

_Crack!_

The bat struck Jongdae’s hand and immediately broke it. Jongdae cried out as he fell forward, landing on his forehead as his now broken hand was pulled to his stomach and held by his good hand. Jongdae was trying to focus on his breathing as he tried to breathe through the pain. 

“Thank you for not lying to me!” The man said and Jongdae could hear that there was a grin on his face. Then suddenly a boot was pressed in between his shoulder blades, forcing Jongdae down on his stomach instead of being curled up on his knees. To keep from lying on his broken hand and potentially hurting it Jongdae moved so his arms were no longer tucked under him and instead spread out to the side of him. 

The foot was removed from his back and he heard the man moving behind him a little.

_Crack!_

Jongdae screamed as the bat came down on his left forearm, snapping it like it was a twig. Afterwards Jongdae was trying to catch his breath as the pain suddenly got rid of the haze in his brain. But, now the pain was all he focused on.

_Crack!_

Another scream ripped out of Jongdae’s throat as his left leg was struck, and then broke. Tears were now streaming down his face from the pain he was in. That and the realization that this was probably the end for him. He’d never get to see Xiumin’s face again. He heard the man take a deep breath in, likely raising the bat up for another blow. 

“ _Why?!_ ” Jongdae yelled through his pain before choking back a sob. 

The bat didn’t hit him again, but that didn’t mean Jongdae could relax. Instead the man stepped to the left side of him and stepped on his unbroken hand, still causing Jongdae to let out a small cry of pain due to the fact that was attached to his broken arm. When he looked to the side and up he saw the man rolling up his sleeves to his elbows as the bat was tucked under one of his arms for the time being. “Why?” He repeated the question with a cruel grin. When his arms dropped back down and he went to hold the bat once again Jongdae took note of the rose tattoo on his forearm. 

“Payback, baby.” He responded with an eerily casual voice before he walked back behind Jongdae. Jongdae tried to curl his right leg up to protect it. But, it was too late.

_Crack!_

Jongdae’s throat burned as he screamed in agony once again. His entire body was on fire from the pain searing through him. But, then.. The sound of his phone vibrating was heard between his sobs. The man simply reached down to pull the phone out of Jongdae’s back pocket as he moved to squat in front of Jongdae. He put his finger to his lips to indicate that Jongdae be quiet before he looked at the caller ID. When he saw it he didn’t hide the laugh that came from him. “ _Really?_ ” He asked with a bright grin, clearly amused by the name of whomever was calling. But, either way he answered.

Jongdae could hear Xiumin’s voice on the other end of the phone and he let out a shaky breath. He didn’t think he’d get to hear it again. If this was going to be the last time he heard Xiumin’s voice he was going to appreciate every second of it.

“Hey, Jongdae is a little.. Tied up at the moment. Might I ask who is speaking? Considering Jongdae’s caller ID only suggests you are a lover.. Or, hell.. Maybe you are his blood. But, I doubt that.” The man grinned as he spoke with that same amused tone of his. 

_Xiumin of the Wu family._

“ _Xiumin?_ ” The man repeated with a laugh as he looked down at Jongdae who was staring at a wall, trying to focus on Xiumin’s voice more than the pain. But, tears kept streaming down his face. “Well, that makes this a lot more interesting. So, I take it you’re his lover?”  
_... Yes._  
“Oh, good. Now listen here, Xiumin. I’ve broken one of Jongdae’s hands, one of his arms, and both legs. I suggest you come rushing to his rescue before I break his spine and maybe his skull.” With that the man hung up the phone. But, he did seem to send a text message, presumably the address of where the stranger and Jongdae were at. 

The man sat Jongdae’s phone just out of his reach as he smiled down at him. But, Jongdae refused to look at him as the quiet sobs started back up now that he was certain he wasn’t going to hear Xiumin’s voice anymore. So, the stranger grabbed Jongdae’s now sweat soaked hair and pulled his head up until Jongdae was looking at him. “Remember, this is just payback.”  
“Who are you..?”  
“Jihyun.”

The name meant nothing to Jongdae and now Jongdae was praying that the pain would make him lose consciousness. 

“Jihyun” let go of Jongdae, so his head dropped to the hard concrete. Then he stood up completely. “I’ve heard that getting beat to death with a baseball bat is the worst way to go. It leaves the body so disfigured from the bludgeonings.. It’s really hard to identify the person. But, a lover could potentially recognize the body.”

With that, Jihyun simply walked away, leaving Jongdae to lay there in his agony. 

\----

It felt like ages before he heard voices again. Namely he heard Xiumin calling his name. Jongdae tried to respond, but a loud sob came out instead. 

“ _Jongdae!_ ”

Xiumin’s voice was in the same room as him and he heard feet running over to him. Xiumin dropped to his knees in front of Jongdae, clearly unsure of how to even handle his broken lover. He knew moving him was going to hurt like hell. 

“Baekhyun, bring the car through the warehouse doors and get it as close to here as possible.” Baekhyun hesitated when he finally saw Jongdae, but Xiumin didn’t give him much time. “ _Now!_ ” With that Baekhyun jumped before running back out. 

It was then that Xiumin settled to scooting up to Jongdae so he could lift his head up so it could rest on his knees and one hand went to rest on his back while the other cupped Jongdae’s face so his thumb could rub against his cheek in an attempt to comfort him. “I’m here, Jongdae. You’re going to be okay.” Xiumin’s words were soft as Jongdae began to openly weep.  
“It _hurts_ , Minseok!” The only way Jongdae could get his voice past his sobs was if he shouted them. He didn’t see Chanyeol and Kai uncomfortably shift their weight on their feet a ways away from him, clearly unnerved by the sight in front of them.

“ _Shhhh.._ ” Xiumin shushed his lover as he tried to hold back his own tears. “I know it does, baby. I know. But, you’re going to be okay. Right now Baekhyun is moving the car. Then we’re going to take you home and Lay is already preparing the OR for you. We’re going to take care of you.” Xiumin tried to distract Jongdae with the sound of his own voice. But, as he spoke Jongdae was moving his right arm, the unbroken one, towards Xiumin. The broken hand went to rest above Jongdae’s head in Xiumin’s lap, unable to grasp for him without causing more pain. 

When Baekhyun came running back inside the room he looked at Chanyeol and Kai, who shifted uncomfortably once again. They knew they were going to have to be the ones to move Jongdae, they knew it was going to hurt him like hell. So, hesitantly they approached the two men on the ground. Xiumin looked up at the pair before swallowing. This was going to be hard for both of them. Jongdae was going to be in severe pain and Xiumin was going to have to listen, knowing he couldn’t make it better. Either way, he nodded before looking down at Jongdae. “Listen, It’s going to hurt. I’ll be honest. But, Kai and Chanyeol are going to move you to the car.”

With that, Xiumin removed his hands from Jongdae and Kai moved to the other side of him before the two men both went to pick Jongdae up. Immediately a guttural scream ripped out of Jongdae from the pain. But, the two men did their best to ignore the cries and pleas for them to stop from their friend and went to try and move him into the car as quickly as possible. Xiumin stood up as he rubbed the tears from his eyes before he followed after them.

\--

After what felt like the longest drive in history they finally arrived at the mansion. Jongdae once more needed to be carried, but this time he simply began to whimper and groan, his throat hurting too much to be able to produce anymore cries. 

Soon enough he was brought into the “OR” where Lay, two nurses and an anesthesiologist were waiting, all clearly prepared for potential surgery. The second Jongdae saw Kai and Chanyeol leave the room as Lay got ready to get an IV started on Jongdae’s good arm Jongdae spoke up. “Lay, I’m begging you. Put me to sleep. Now.” His hoarse voice rasped out with tears still streaming down his face.  
“I’m working on it, Jongdae. I know it hurts. But, I have to get an IV started. So hang on just a moment.” Lay spoke through the surgical mask that covered his face as he felt for a vein on Jongdae’s right arm that had already been tied with a tourniquet.  
“Please, put me to sleep. _Please, please, please._ It _hurts_.” Jongdae openly begged, but somehow Lay managed to focus on what he was doing.  
“Give me one minute, Jongdae. Sixty seconds and you’ll be out.”  
“Quicker.”

Jongdae didn’t know that Xiumin was standing outside the room, watching through a window. He could hear Jongdae begging to be put under and it was starting to make Xiumin crumble. 

Lay managed to get an IV and the tourniquet was pulled off of his arm and Lay looked over at the anesthesiologist. “Put him under. _Now_.” Then his eyes went back down to Jongdae as one of his hands cupped Jongdae’s face in a reassuring manner. Even if Jongdae couldn’t see it past the mask, Lay smiled down at him. “I’m going to take care of you.”  
“Okay, the anesthetic is going.”  
“Do me a favor, Jongdae. Countdown from ten to zero, out loud.” Lay told his friend and Jongdae gave him a shaky nod.

“Ten. Nine. Eight.. Seven.. Si-...”

“He’s out. Let’s get to work.” 

\---

Xiumin watched as Lay worked on his lover. His arms were crossed across his chest, defensively almost, as silent tears streamed down his face. “You shouldn’t be watching this.”

At that Xiumin turned to see Suho approaching him with sympathy written on his face. Xiumin quickly rubbed the excess tears off his face with the back of one of his hands. “I have to be here for him.” Xiumin stated in a matter of fact tone.  
“No you don’t. You can wait in the room he will be put in. He’s unconscious right now, Xiumin. He’s doesn’t need you here. But, he will need you when he wakes up.” Suho was rather blunt, but he was honest with his friend as he always tried to be.  
“He’s right, you know.” Kris’s voice suddenly chimed in as he walked into the hallway as well. 

Xiumin ignored the two as he watched in emotional turmoil as Lay set Jongdae’s broken bones. So, Suho walked over to him and put a hand on Xiumin’s shoulder. “Kris will take you to the room he’ll be put in. Go rest in there with him and I’ll stay here to keep an eye on Jongdae. Okay?” Xiumin gave Suho a dangerous look, but Suho didn’t flinch away and held his resolve. 

“Do it for Jongdae. You know he wouldn’t want you to see this.” Kris chimed in as he continued his approach to the pair. Xiumin looked over at Kris before he finally relented, nodding in silent agreement. So, Kris escorted Xiumin to where they’d move Jongdae while Suho turned to watch the operation. 

\----

Hours passed before Lay finally looked up from Jongdae. He found Suho standing at the window and gave him a slight nod. “Move him to his room. Tell Xiumin I’ll be there shortly.” Lay instructed his nurses and they all did as they were told. Lay stayed out of their way before heading to the exit of the OR, taking off the surgical mask and gloves and trashing them before he stepped out the door. Immediately he turned to Suho who seemed apprehensive. Even Lay looked like shit now, considering how sweaty he was after that operation. 

“How is he..?”  
“He’ll be okay. He’s going to be heavily medicated for a while to ease his pain. But, he’s going to make a full recovery. Kris is going to have to hire on a proper physical therapist for when Jongdae will be able to walk again. But, after some time spent in PT and then him going to the gym regularly he’ll be back to normal.” 

Suho nodded, almost surprised by Lay’s professionalism. But, Lay was good at what he did. While he was working he somehow managed to compartmentalize everything and focus on his job rather than his feelings. It made for a good surgeon. But, afterwards he'd always feel an “emotional hangover,” where all the emotions hit him at once. “What the hell was this, Suho?” Lay’s expression was still so serious as he looked at the man in front of him.  
“I honestly don’t have a clue. All we know is that someone answered Jongdae’s phone and told him how beaten Jongdae was. But, he wanted to know if he and Xiumin were lovers and Luhan found out that one of the kids Jongdae takes care of was handsomely paid to lead Jongdae to the warehouse he was found in. Of course, the little girl says she had no idea what the man planned to do to Jongdae. Luhan believes her, so..” Suho told Lay everything they knew at the moment and Lay ran a hand through his hair as he let out stressed breath.  
“Jongdae was targeted, then. But, why??”  
“I wish I knew.”

Lay hesitantly nodded as he tried to get rid of all the emotions inside of him. He needed to stay in his “business mode” since he was about to have to go face Xiumin. “Alright. Well, I’m going to go talk to Xiumin, then we will take Jongdae off the anesthetic so he’ll wake up on his own.. He’s not going to have much completely conscious thought for probably two or three days though.. So, after I speak with Xiumin and then with all the nurses I’ll head to our room so I can shower.” Lay explained to Suho, who nodded along with him in understanding. Lay leaned in to give him a quick kiss before he walked away to go attend to Xiumin.

When he entered the room that Jongdae was being kept in it was much like any other bedroom in the mansion. But, the hospital bed Jongdae was in was in the center of the room. Considering their family did consist of couples they did put a full sized bed next to each hospital bed in the “medical rooms,” creating a makeshift queen sized bed. That way they could at least sleep next to their lover, and the railing of the hospital bed on the side next to the full sized bed was lowered so that they could even cuddle once their lover was healed up enough for that. But, until then it was already advised to Xiumin that should he lay in the bed next to Jongdae he stay on his side and only keep a single hand on him if he must.

So, Xiumin was sitting up in the bed, facing Jongdae as his hand ran through Jongdae’s hair. He looked up when he heard Lay enter, but otherwise didn’t move. “Xiumin.. I’m so sorry this happened.” Lay first wanted to offer his condolences, which Xiumin shook his head, rejecting it.  
“How long until he gets better?” Xiumin cut straight to the chase, making Lay take in a deep breath.  
“If he’s lucky? Two months he’ll be out of the casts and into physical therapy, but he will still be in this room under the watch of the nurses until the physical therapist decides he’s strong enough to be away from the nurses. I’d say it’d be another month, month and a half, after that until he’s fully healed. But, that’s if he’s lucky and there’s no complications.” Lay was quick to give him his opinion and Xiumin solemnly nodded as his eyes looked back down to Jongdae. 

“I’m going have them take him off the anesthetic and he will wake up on his own. But, do not expect him to regain consciousness tonight. He probably won’t even have much genuine conscious thought for two days because of all the pain medication he will be on. Even if his eyes are open, that doesn’t mean he’s completely ‘awake.’ And even with the pain medication.. He’s going to hurt, Xiumin. I want you to be aware of that.”  
“I understand.” Xiumin responded simply and so Lay turned to the anesthesiologist and nodded for them to get Jongdae off of the anesthetic. 

“Thank you for helping him, Lay.”  
“It’s what I’m here for.” Lay replied with a weak smile as he looked over at the two lovers.

There was a long moment of silence. “Is.. There anything else I can do for you?” Xiumin looked up at Lay’s question before shaking his head. “Alright, you have my number. Don’t be afraid to call me if you need something, or even if you have any questions.”  
“I will.”

In that moment Xiumin looked older than he ever has before. But, Lay could see exhaustion and stress getting to him. “Xiumin, please get some rest. Jongdae will need you at your best.”  
“I’ll try.”  
“Thank you.”

With that, Lay left. He went to the “nurses’ station” to give them all their jobs for taking care of Jongdae and all to call him should anything change. Then he worked his way up to the second floor to what was originally Suho’s room, but now their shared room.

Lay quietly walked in, just in case Suho was already asleep. But, he should’ve known better that Suho was not. Instead Suho was sitting on the foot of the bed looking at his phone. He looked up at Lay as soon as he entered. “I told Kris he needed to look into hiring a good physical therapist.”  
“Thank you.” Lay replied in a tired tone as he shut the door behind him.  
“Let’s get a shower.” Suho said while rising from the bed and Lay nodded in agreement, thankful Suho was willing to shower with him. He must’ve known that Lay was too tired to properly clean himself how he should. So, Lay knew that Suho would help him wash up so they could both call it a night as quickly as possible. 

After the shower and after Suho dried Lay’s hair for him Suho ushered the younger into bed. Suho tightly wrapped his arms around Lay and Lay curled up against Suho’s chest, enjoying the earthy smells of his body wash that mingled with his own that had a bit more of a citrusy smell.

“Lay..”  
“Hmm?”  
“You’re shaking..” Suho pointed out with pain in his voice. Lay did not even realize he was indeed trembling in Suho’s arms until he said something about it.  
“ _Oh.._ ” He didn’t know how to respond, but he was now getting to be able to feel the fear that came from the entire situation around Jongdae.  
“Are you okay?” Suho asked and Lay buried his face into the crook of Suho’s neck.  
“I don’t know.” He was honest at least, so Suho held onto him tighter in response.

“Who’s going to be next..?” Lay broke their long silence and he heard the breath leave Suho.  
“What?”  
“If Jongdae was targeted, who’s next?”  
“I don’t know, Lay. But, please let’s go to sleep, okay? You need your rest.”

Somehow, Lay managed to fall asleep.

\----

About two days later Jongdae did regain consciousness and was able to recognize Xiumin who was always next to him. Previous times that he’s “woken up,” he’d groan about making the pain stop before fading away again. Jongdae was foggy minded from the drugs and the pain. But his right arm moved over to Xiumin, who was asleep. His hand that was in a cast rested on Xiumin’s shoulders as Jongdae felt heat behind his eyes.

At the touch that was awkward and far from skin on skin Xiumin’s eyes opened. “Jongdae?” Xiumin asked as one of his hands cupped Jongdae’s face, unsure if he was “awake” or not. Jongdae tried to respond, but his voice was hoarse and scratchy so words didn’t exactly come out. “Hey, there~” Xiumin hummed in a soft voice as he smiled at Jongdae. “You really gave me a scare.”  
“ _Sorry.._ ” Jongdae’s voice was rough and a far cry from his typical voice. 

Xiumin shifted and moved so he could lean over and press a kiss against Jongdae’s forehead. “I’m going to go get the nurses and let them know you’re awake, but I’ll be right back.”

\--

About an hour passed before Luhan, Suho, and Kris were also in the room with Jongdae and Xiumin. “Jongdae, do you remember anything?” Xiumin tried to coax information out of Jongdae who groaned at the thought. But, he was still swimming in his head. So, he wasn’t even sure what was a real memory or what was his imagination.  
“Yes?”

There was a long silence and Jongdae finally realized they wanted him to speak. “He had a tattoo..” With a wince Jongdae put his casted hand on his casted arm to indicate it was on his left forearm. “A rose..” Luhan was typing on his phone while Suho and Kris looked at Jongdae. “I.. His name, he said his name.”  
“What was it?” Xiumin prompted, hopeful if anyone could keep Jongdae on track it’d be him.  
“Ji.. Hyung? Hoon? Um..” Jongdae shook his head, as if it’d shake up his thoughts and bring the memory to the top. There was a long silence from everyone else as they waited. “He said it was payback.” Jongdae seemed to forget completely about the man’s name and Kris narrowed his eyes at the words. 

There were a lot of people they’ve “wronged” in the past.

“Hyun!” His scratchy voice croaked out suddenly. “Jihyun.”  
“ _Jihyun?_ ” Suho repeated as his eyes widened some.  
“You know the name?” Kris asked, his attention immediately turning onto him.  
“If it is who I think it is, yes. I think he was a member of Dean’s family.” Suho explained as he scratched the back of his head. It was at this point that Luhan’s phone went off from a text message.  
“Suho would be correct. There was a Jihyun in Dean’s family.” Luhan confirmed as he looked at his phone.

“... _A bat_..” Jongdae’s voice was barely above a whisper and no one really heard exactly what he said except for Xiumin.  
“What about a bat..?” He asked his lover to clarify as his hand ran through Jongdae’s hair.  
“He asked if I.. Beat anyone with one. I-.. Yes.. A few.. But, Dean.” Jongdae whimpered as the mention of a long dead name left his lips. Jongdae vividly remembered beating the man to death. He still held no remorse as he remembered the way the bat cracked as it slammed into bone, the barbed wire rending flesh on contact. He actually enjoyed the way the man screamed and squirmed in misery before Jongdae finally ended him and then dumped his body outside of town in a field.

“It’s a little late to get revenge for him, don’t you think?” Suho voiced his thoughts and Xiumin let out a heavy breath.  
“Luhan.” Immediately Luhan perked up and looked away from his phone as he looked at Xiumin, but Xiumin didn’t tear his eyes away from Jongdae. “Find Jihyun. I need to make the son of a bitch suffer.”  
“Yes, sir.” 

Unfortunately, no one could predict exactly how difficult it was going to be to locate Jihyun.


	2. Chapter 2

“Lay..?” 

Suho sounded apprehensive when he walked into the bedroom he shared with his lover. It made Lay stand up from the table he was sitting at while he was reading a book. He could tell something was wrong by the look on Suho’s face. So, he didn’t verbally respond. He only approached Suho, even then it was very slowly and hesitantly. 

“Jongdae told us what he remembered.”  
“And..?”

Suho swallowed before he went on.

“We think this could possibly be revenge for Dean.”

The name made Lay’s eyes widen as Suho reached out to embrace Lay, to reassure him. But, Lay pulled away and took a few steps back away from Suho. He saw the frown on Suho’s face when he did so, it hurt his feelings. But, Lay remembered how he felt when Dean was a problem. How used and dirty Dean made him feel.. Not to mention how he lied about Dean being the one that killed a soldier of Kris’s. That’s what led to his death. 

“Lay.”  
“It’s my fault then.” Lay decided on and Suho’s frown grew as he quickly tried to approach Lay, even as the younger still took a few steps away from.  
“ _Lay._ ” Despite Lay trying to put distance between them still Suho’s hand reached out to grab his arm and pulled him into an embrace. “It’s not your fault.”  
“But, I lied. If I hadn’t Dean still might be alive and then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.” Lay was speaking a bit quicker than usual as Suho tightened his grip on Lay, knowing it was what he needed to feel grounded.  
“You saved Kai’s life, Lay.” Suho tried to reason with the man while he felt Lay's chest begin to expand as he tried to take deep breaths.  
“But.. What if I was wrong, what if someone else gets hurt..?”  
“It’s okay, you’re okay, we’re okay.”  
“Jongdae isn’t.”  
“And that isn’t your fault, Lay. But, he’ll be okay now because of you.” 

\-------------

The two months passed and Jongdae was out of his casts and having physical therapy sessions daily as the leaves began to change colors outside. So, one cool day Jongdae managed to talk the physical therapist into letting him walk around outside rather than being confined in the mansion. So, the pair were heading outside, which Jongdae was on crutches, but he’s almost mastered being able to fly along on them, despite how much it even strained his hand and arm to use them. 

The physical therapist always got onto him for going too fast on them, convinced that Jongdae was going to fall one day.

Jongdae was warned over and over that the ground is not flat like it is in the mansion, so he needed to be extra careful. He actually listened and was taking his time walking outside, watching the ground so he didn’t slip. 

“How’s he doing?”

Jongdae’s head snapped up to find Xiumin approaching him, looking oh so fine. As always the man prefered simply wearing a suit vest with dress pants and a white button up and right now it was really all Jongdae wanted to see. His grin was a clear indication of his excitement to see Xiumin. 

“He’s doing well. He’s actually listening to me.” The physical therapist spoke up with a soft chuckle as they stopped their walk so that Xiumin could catch up.  
“Whoa. Jongdae? You’re listening to him?” Xiumin could not help but to lightly tease Jongdae, full well knowing that the physical therapist has struggled immensely with getting Jongdae to cooperate. “I think we need to have Lay check you over for a fever.”

Once Xiumin caught up with the pair the three began to slowly walk through the back area of the mansion. “It feels like we have a chaperone on a date.” Jongdae broke the short lived silence and made the physical therapist chuckle some.  
“I’ll hang back some, give you two your privacy. But, that doesn’t mean you can start slacking, Jongdae.” With that, the physical therapist did back off some.  
“He’s a sadist, I swear.” Jongdae muttered with a sigh.  
“He only wants you to get better, like the rest of us.” Xiumin was quick to point out as he looked over at Jongdae.

There was a long silence as the two enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere. The trees were orange and some leaves were beginning to fall, the air was cool, and the sky didn’t have a single cloud in it. It was really quite nice.

“So.. You haven’t talked to me about.. You know, Jihyun. Are you finally going to?” Jongdae’s voice was low and actually very bitter as he gave Xiumin a nasty side eye. Xiumin only wanted Jongdae to focus on getting better and not worry about it.  
“Jongdae.. Honestly there isn’t anything to tell.”  
“You haven’t found him, then?”  
“No.. Luhan’s ‘feelers’ haven’t seen or heard anything about him since.. Well, he got to you.” Xiumin pursed his lips as watched Jongdae swallow, he knew this was difficult for him. Hell, it was difficult for Xiumin. “We’ll get him, Jongdae.”

Jongdae let out a huff before he tried to move a little bit faster on the crutches. Of course, he wasn’t paying any attention to where he was going and he leaned onto some soft dirt, the crutch slipping out from under him and he lost his balance. But, Xiumin’s hand quickly grabbed Jongdae’s right bicep, keeping him from falling, but just barely. Jongdae’s hands abandoned his crutches since both offered no support in the moment, but this meant he was putting his full weight on his legs for the first time. He definitely tried to hide the pain, but he still let out a sharp whimper. 

Xiumin didn’t let Jongdae stay there for long, which his legs and arm was thankful for ( _Xiumin’s grip was strong and painful at this point_ ). Xiumin was moving Jongdae’s arm to rest around his neck before his other hand went to wrap around Jongdae’s waist. “ _Lean on me_.” Jongdae knew from the sound of Xiumin’s voice that it was a command rather than a request, so he did exactly as he was told. Most of his weight was now on Xiumin rather than his legs and it made standing much more tolerable. But, that didn’t get rid how red Jongdae was, embarrassed by his slip up more than anything else.

The physical therapist already ran over once Jongdae started to lose his balance. So, he was collecting Jongdae’s crutches that were on the ground as Xiumin stood there, gladly helping Jongdae stay standing. “I’m going to kill him when he’s found, Jongdae.” The physical therapist actually flinched at Xiumin’s words, the man still unused to this environment. But, Kris was certainly paying him enough to keep his mouth shut. 

“Why don’t we head back to your room, Jongdae..?” The physical therapist clearly wanted an out to get away from Xiumin after he spoke, since he did not doubt Xiumin’s words.

The three slowly made their way back to the “hospital room” Jongdae was in and once he was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed he sat the crutches to the side to lean against the wall as he thanked the physical therapist. This left him alone with Xiumin and finally some much needed privacy since there was some tension between them.

“Xiumin.. I’d really prefer it if you stayed within the mansion until Jihyun is caught.” Jongdae said with a heavy sigh, knowing it wasn’t going to be taken well.  
“Excuse me?” Yep, Jongdae was right. He could hear the edge to Xiumin’s voice as he looked down at Jongdae.  
“You’re going to be a target for him, like I was. Don’t make it easy for him to get to you.”  
“Respectfully Jongdae, I do not take orders from you.”

That made Jongdae snap.

“I’m not saying this as some coworker or boss bullshit, Xiumin! I’m saying this as your boyfriend, as someone that loves you!” He openly yelled at Xiumin for the first time in a very long time. He could see in the way his eyes narrowed that Xiumin wasn’t fond of it.  
“Jongdae, look-”  
“No! _You_ look! I thought I wasn’t going to get to see you ever again, alright!? The last thing I want is for you to go through what I went through. So, please stop seeing this as some kind of insubordination and see it for what it is! I love you and I want you to be safe, just like how you want me to be safe.” Jongdae’s tone was clearly one of agitation and he was was practically glaring up at Xiumin, who wore a surprisingly calm expression.

Jongdae held his nerve, but it was starting to dissipate under Xiumin’s gaze. The man had that effect on him after all these years together. After about of minute of being under Xiumin’s hard gaze Jongdae’s nerve broke as he looked down. “I can’t lose you.” His voice was more of a cracked whisper now.

He never heard Xiumin make a sound. He didn’t even know he moved until suddenly Xiumin’s hand was on his chin and forcing him to look up so Xiumin could capture his lips. It was soft and sweet, which was typically not Xiumin’s style. The kiss didn’t last too long, but it lasted long enough to get the point across. “I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.”  
“No one _plans_ on dying, Xiumin.”

Xiumin sighed at his lover’s words, shaking his head as he enjoyed their closeness. “No, but I’m going to be with you for as long as I possibly can.” With that, Jongdae finally nodded his head before Xiumin brought him into another kiss.

\-------

Another month passed. Jongdae was finally back to his old self aside from a few new scars, although he was still weaker than he was before he was attacked. There was nothing that could be done about that, however. Time and dedication at the gym would fix it, but nothing would immediately help him.

Everyone else, on the other hand, managed to slip into an apprehensive business as usual. They all knew they haven’t seen the last of Jihyun and it really bothered them. But, what more could they do about it other than wait it out? 

Nothing.

One early morning Luhan’s phone began going off. This was probably only three hours after he and Sehun finally went to bed, so he was not pleased. At first he let it ring, but Sehun finally groaned enough for him to reach over and grab the phone off the nightstand. 

“ _WHAT?!_ ” 

Safe to say, Luhan was not a morning person. 

Yet, after listening to the other voice on the phone for only ten seconds Luhan’s eyes shot open and he sat straight up in the bed, somehow quickly untangling himself from Sehun. “Say again.” 

Luhan sat there for another ten seconds before flying out of their bed and rushing to grab some sweatpants and a shirt that was discarded on the floor from the night before. Then he rushed out of the room, despite Sehun’s tired whining.

Luhan ran down the hallways, breathlessly asking for more details before he got to Kris’s room. As he listened to the person on the other line he banged on Kris’s door. There was no response, so naturally Luhan banged on it some more, not even realizing he put on Sehun’s shirt by accident so the collar of the shirt hung down to his chest. 

When Kris opened the door he looked just as tired as Luhan and was fuming. “You have three seconds to-”  
“We found him.”

Kris’s entire demeanor changed as Luhan began to speak with the person over the phone a little bit more, asking them to text him more details before hanging up. The two called Xiumin and Suho and then proceeded to go into Kris’s office to talk about it. But, talk was probably not the best word for it, at least at first. 

“Where is he!?” Xiumin demanded as he approached Luhan, if it was anyone else he probably would’ve made them back into a wall with that sharp glare of his. But, Luhan wasn’t having any of it.  
“You’re not going. So sit down.” Kris quickly said, snapping his fingers as he pointed at the free chair across from his desk.  
“Oh, the hell I am.”  
“ _Sit._ ” Kris’s voice was an octave lower and very reluctantly Xiumin did as he was told.

“Chanyeol and Kai need to be sent after him.” Suho broke his silence as he sat next to Xiumin.  
“Agreed.” Kris nodded as he looked at the desk for a moment in thought. “You know Baekhyun is going to want to go as well.”  
“ _No._ ” Suho’s eyes bore into Kris as their eyes met.  
“Excuse me?”  
“Don’t let him go. You know how Chanyeol gets. If Jihyun hurts Baekhyun like he did Jongdae.. Chanyeol will not be able to think properly. It’d be like sending Kyungsoo along with Kai. Don’t let him go.” Suho told him and Kris openly sighed as he rubbed his face in thought.

If Xiumin and Luhan had opinions of their own, they did not voice them.

“I think the more the better.. Jongdae obviously can’t go and I’m not letting Xiumin go. If Baekhyun wants to go, let him go.”  
“Kris.. You’re wrong.” 

\---

Sure enough, Baekhyun wanted to go with Chanyeol and Kai. Despite the look of warning Suho gave him, Kris allowed it. An hour after Luhan got the call, the three were sent to the location one of Luhan’s contacts last saw Jihyun at.

“It looks like a prime house to burn down..” Baekhyun muttered as they all exited the car they were in. Apparently Jihyun was seen entering the residence, but hasn’t been seen leaving. The home was old and the exact kind that Baekhyun would torch.

They all slowly approached the building and of course the front doors were locked, so Baekhyun was forced to pick them. But, he wasn’t complaining. Not like he could complain anyways since they were all trying to be as quiet as possible. 

Once the door was opened they all crept into the home with weapons drawn. They soon came across a flight of stairs and Kai looked at them, nodding towards the stairs. Chanyeol nodded before Kai split off from the pair to go up the stairs as they checked the downstairs area. 

It was so _empty._

There was nothing of value here. Only a sleeping bag in one of the rooms. But, that was it. Baekhyun was tailing behind Chanyeol considering Chanyeol was the one with the shotgun while they cleared the first floor. In the room with the sleeping bag there was a door to a coat closet, presumably. Chanyeol was stepping out of the room and into the kitchen area as Baekhyun opened the closet. Sure enough it was a coat closet. It was surprisingly full compared to the rest of the home. There were several coats in the closet as well as other “clutter.” 

Baekhyun looked around in it, but didn’t exactly see anything of immediate concern. But, he didn’t spend too long on it considering Chanyeol was in the next room and he did not want to be split up from him for too long. So, he stepped out of the coat closet.

Once his back was turned there was the sound of hangers moving on the coat rack before a rough hand pressed itself over Baekhyun’s mouth and the barrel of a pistol was pressed to his temple. “I genuinely suggest you stay quiet and still.” A voice whispered into Baekhyun’s ear as he felt someone about his size press up against him. “To the corner.” The voice whispered and the pair shuffled so that whomever was behind him could move to stand more in a corner, which was in between the closet and a window. 

They stood like that for a full thirty seconds before footsteps creaked on the wooden floor. Chanyeol’s tall figure was in the door frame as he still looked around the kitchen. But, eventually he looked up and towards Baekhyun, finally becoming aware of the situation his lover was in. Immediately his demeanor changed as he pointed the shotgun towards the man behind Baekhyun, which was foolish since if he fired it Baekhyun would be hit as well. Slowly those long legs carried him into the same room while he held murder in his eyes. 

“Keep your voice down or I will put a bullet in his brain.” The man, presumably Jihyun spoke.  
“Let him go.” An amused sound left Jihyun, probably because Chanyeol did keep his voice down. But, he felt Baekhyun relax in his grip.  
“ _I will put the bullet in him if anything goes wrong. Do not think he’s safe and only your life is on the line._ ” Jihyun whispered into Baekhyun’s ear, causing him to tense again, but the entire time he wore a smirk as he looked over at Chanyeol.

“Put the gun down and slide it over.” Jihyun instructed as his hand left Baekhyun’s mouth to have a better grip on him.  
“Chanyeol, please.” Baekhyun essentially begged as he softly spoke to Chanyeol. Chanyeol’s expression faltered, but when he saw Jihyun’s finger move to the trigger of the gun he finally nodded and put the shotgun on the ground before sliding it over to the pair’s feet. 

“Thank you for cooperating.” Jihyun said before pushing Baekhyun forward and away from him. Chanyeol looked relieved, but not before Jihyun pulled the trigger of his pistol. The gun was not aimed at Baekhyun however, no it was aimed at Chanyeol and the bullet went straight into his right shoulder. 

Very quickly after that Kai’s head popped around the corner, but Jihyun was expecting him and fired three shots in his direction to get him to duck back around the corner. Then three more shots were fired into Chanyeol. Which, Baekhyun was scrambling for the shotgun to try and and save his lover. So, then Jihyun picked up the shotgun at his feet. Kai’s head poked back around and the shotgun turned on him and caused Kai to retreat again. When Jihyun fired the gun the buckshot tore into the wall and actually punched through the drywall, which was a good example of what would become of Chanyeol’s chest if the gun was turned on him. This caused Baekhyun to rush over to Chanyeol as he crawled on top of his bleeding lover to hover over him, making himself a human shield for Chanyeol. The buckshot could probably go right through Baekhyun, regardless Baekhyun would die if he got shot with it. He didn’t seem to mind that, so long as Chanyeol would have a chance.

“ _Cute._ ” Jihyun’s voice commented as his feet carried him a bit closer to the pair. Tears were starting to appear in Baekhyun’s eyes as he looked down at Chanyeol.  
“I love you.” Baekhyun whispered down at Chanyeol, who was still coming to his senses.  
“Kai!” Chanyeol at least seemed to know enough that Baekhyun was not safe at the moment as his strained voice cried out for some aid.

“Think long and hard before I see your face. I’ll kill both of them right here and now if I see you.” Jihyun’s authoritative tone was enhanced by the way he racked the shotgun and aimed it down at Baekhyun and Chanyeol, which Baekhyun flinched at the sound of the gun being cocked. Safe to say, Kai did not peak his head out again. 

“Chanyeol, was it? I suggest you say your goodbyes.” Jihyun told the man with a devilish grin plastered on his face. With a grunt of pain Chanyeol reached up to grab Baekhyun and tried to push him off, but Baekhyun grabbed his hands and effortlessly pinned them to the floor.  
“Stop. Tell me you love me.” Baekhyun spoke softly with a trembling voice, wanting only to hear Chanyeol say those rare words before he’d get taken from him.  
“ _I love you._ ” Chanyeol’s words were more of a whisper than anything else. The man sounded broken, truly broken. Baekhyun was his first and only love. He couldn’t be replaced.

“Adorable.” Jihyun’s voice chimed in as he looked up from the pair. He heard a stair creeking, the assassin likely about to test his luck. “Well, now that you two have said your goodbyes.. Let’s get the show on the road shall we?” He spoke as he glanced back down on the pair and could see Baekhyun shaking almost violently. 

The sound of the shotgun blast was almost deafening, but it was easy to hear Baekhyun cry out before he dropped down on top of Chanyeol. 

Kai came bolting in the room, but Jihyun was gone and Baekhyun was uninjured. Yet, when he looked up he saw the shattered window and Jihyun making a run for it. So naturally he ran over to the window and jumped out of it as well to give chase to the man. 

Unfortunately, once he was outside the home Kai saw the black haired man sliding down a manhole. 

Kai was not dumb. He was not about to pursue him in the sewers, in such a closed space. So, he made the difficult choice of letting him go so he could pull his phone out and immediately call Kris.

“The son of a bitch is dead?”  
“No. He got away. Chanyeol is injured. Gunshots. Tell Lay to get ready for him. We’re headed back to the mansion.”  
“ _Damnit!_ ” 

With that, Kris hung up and Kai quickly reentered the home. “Baekhyun! Come on, we need to move him to the car and get him to the mansion!” He yelled as he put his gun between his pants’ waistband and the small of his back. Blood was seeping out of the four holes in Chanyeol’s rather thick sweater and his eyes were scrunched up in pain while Baekhyun worried over him. 

The two on their own really struggled to carry Chanyeol to the car, mostly due to how awkwardly long he was. But, adrenaline in their systems at least helped with carrying his weight. Soon they were able to really more so shove Chanyeol in the backseat of the car, as he groaned and cursed Kai. Which, obviously all of it was directed to Kai rather than Baekhyun. “You can chew me out later.” The assassin muttered before they shut the back door to both take seats up front and essentially fly through the city to get to their home. 

Unlike with Jongdae, there were no attempts to be easy with Chanyeol on Kai’s side. He was bleeding too much for them to be able to afford to be careful with him. So, he was cursing Kai more and more until they could get him to Lay, who once again was prepared in the OR. Chanyeol seemed to know the drill and almost too easily relaxed on the operating table as Lay got an IV started. Lay looked over to the anesthesiologist and gave them a nod. Soon afterwards they looked back at Lay. “It’s going.”  
“Alright, Chanyeol. Count for me.”

Since Chanyeol knew the routine Lay did not have to specify before Chanyeol began to count backwards from ten. He managed to get to five before he officially went under.

\-----

Suho and Kris met Baekhyun outside the operating room as he watched Lay pull the third bullet from Chanyeol. “Kai told us what happened.” Kris was the first one to speak up, his attention settling on Baekhyun while Suho looked over at Lay in the other room for the moment.  
“I don’t understand why he didn’t kill me.” Baekhyun muttered as he scratched his forearm idly. He wasn’t too worried about Chanyeol now that he was under Lay’s care, besides this wasn’t that uncommon anyways. “I mean.. He made Chanyeol tell me goodbye. I don’t understand.”

Suho looked over at Kris, who glanced at him. “He’s targeting lovers then.” Suho muttered and Kris ran his hand through his hair.  
“Son of a bitch.” 

\--

After Chanyeol was moved to a “hospital” room Suho and Kris left Baekhyun’s company so he could be with Chanyeol and also speak with Lay about recovery. 

When the pair were in Kris’s office, Suho couldn’t keep his opinion to himself, thankfully that wasn’t his job. “Look, I wish I was above this, but I told you so. If you hadn’t let Baekhyun go out then Jihyun wouldn’t have made such quick work of Chanyeol and maybe Chanyeol or Kai could’ve ended him. But, now he’s going to continue to be a thorn in our side.” Suho spoke earning him a glare from Kris.  
“I get it.”  
“Do you, though?? If he’s after lovers then Tao very well could be next the second he finds out about you two. You do realize that, right?”  
“ _Suho. I get it._ ” Kris’s expression took a dangerous turn as he looked over at Suho.  
“I want you to make sure you understand the risks.” Suho’s voice was no longer as accusatory, but it was still full of warning. He knew that things were likely to get worse before they got better.

\----

It only took a few hours for Chanyeol to wake up, which Baekhyun was curled up next to him. While he was told to stay on his side of the makeshift queen sized bed, he crept over to Chanyeol’s side and curled up against the man’s side, holding onto his good arm. Chanyeol let out a whimper as he reached over to to Baekhyun to put his hand on the older’s head. It managed to wake him up from his light sleep.

“How are you feeling?” Baekhyun muttered to his lover without moving away from burying his face into Chanyeol’s side.  
“Sore.”  
“I’m sure you’ll be moving around soon enough to give Lay an ulcer.” Baekhyun’s voice was soft as he still refused to look at Chanyeol. 

“Baekhyun.. Why’d you do it?” Chanyeol asked with a tired voice as his fingers lazily ran through his hair.  
“You’d do the same.”  
“Please don’t do that ever again.”  
“Hm. No promises.” Baekhyun hummed against Chanyeol.  
“I’m serious.” Chanyeol groaned quickly in response.  
“So am I.”

“Baekhyun.. I genuinely thought I was going to lose you.” Chanyeol’s fingers momentarily tightened on some strands of Baekhyun’s brown hair. “I was going to watch you die a horrific death. I.. _Please,_ don’t do that ever again.” Chanyeol’s voice was cracking at the memory of Baekhyun hovering over him to save him from a potential shotgun blast. But, in Chanyeol’s eyes.. The only way that could’ve worked out for him was if the buckshot went straight through Baekhyun and hit him as well. He did not want even want to consider life without Baekhyun. 

“I can’t promise you that. Just like you can’t promise to avoid taking bullets for me either.” Baekhyun argued as he wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s good arm even more. “Get some rest. Please.” The smaller of the two really wanted to drop the conversation, but it was because he knew they’d get no where. Both of them wouldn’t ever want to forgo protecting the other.

\----

Much to Suho’s surprise he found Lay out on their small balcony with a cup of wine in hand. So, without saying much he went outside to join him before he wrapped his arms around his lover and rested his head on his shoulder. Lay leaned back into the embrace from behind before he brought the cup of wine to his lips. Suho knew he was grimacing as he drank. 

“I thought you didn’t like wine.” He mused as he looked up at Lay as best he could.  
“I don’t.. But I didn’t want to raid Luhan’s office. So..” Lay sighed as he looked at the glass before trying to meet Suho’s gaze. “Do you want a drink?” At the question one of Suho’s arms came up from resting over Lay’s stomach to grab the glass in his hand to get a drink of the red wine. “You can keep it.” Lay muttered, drawing a laugh from Suho.  
“You’re too kind.” Suho didn’t really have much class when he leaned his head back and finished off what was in the glass. But, that was mostly so he could put the glass to the side and focus on Lay.

“It’s late, Lay.” Suho hummed as some of his fingers felt his stomach over the black tank top he was wearing.  
“I know, I’m.. Just worried.”  
“I know you are. I am too. But, you did good work on Chanyeol, as usual.” Suho spoke before pressing a soft kiss on the crook of Lay’s neck. “I’m very proud of you.”  
“I wish you didn’t have to be, though. I wish I wasn’t needed.” Lay said as he leaned back into Suho even more, clearly using him as a support to stand now. Suho nodded against Lay, understanding him. But, he didn’t respond otherwise. He understood Lay and didn’t want to upset him further so he didn’t risk speaking. Instead his lips continued to press soft kisses against Lay’s neck, causing the other man to lean his head to the side to give him better access. 

Slowly he’d work on helping Lay at least momentarily forget his worries.

\----

Luhan was sitting in his private area in the bar. The place was rather calm at the moment since it was getting close to closing. Either way, his eyes were on the rest of the bar, making sure that the few customers that were left were not getting too rowdy or handsy considering most them have been drinking. Recently one customer must’ve had too much to drink because he grabbed Sehun’s butt, which immediately resulted in Luhan kicking them out for good. But, it also meant Luhan would be making sure Sehun wasn’t working until closing for a while. So, his lover was already off work and headed home.

It was times like these that Luhan wanted to cut out and leave for the mansion and he certainly could, but he was dedicated to this bar. His fingers drummed on the armrest of the chair he was in as he debated pouring himself another drink. But, when his phone vibrated a brief smile appeared on his face since Sehun texted him something flirtatious as soon as he left the building. So, he was eager to get another text from the younger man.

_Unknown:_  
_You made me slip up earlier today._

Immediately Luhan frowned as he looked at his phone. His tongue dragged over his teeth as he debated on his next course of action. But, he got another text message before he could really decide on anything.

_Unknown:_  
_It won’t happen again._

Odds were it was Jihyun, considering he did help the others get the drop on him earlier today. But, the more concerning part was how he got Luhan’s number. Immediately Luhan worried about one of his contacts being compromised.


	3. Chapter 3

Luhan left the bar after closing, still racking his mind over who could have been compromised. He wasn’t sure, but he did know that when he woke up later it was going to be stressful day for him since he was going to have to start digging through his contacts and figure out who gave Jihyun his number.. And what else they could've given him.

Regardless, he made it back to the mansion and went up to his room, excited to at least be with Sehun and set aside his worries for now. So, he rushed up to their shared room. When he opened the door Sehun wasn’t there, despite him telling Luhan that he’d be waiting up for him earlier. _Ah, he’s probably getting a shower._ Luhan shrugged as he walked towards their bathroom door to give it a slight knock before he opened it. Sehun wasn’t there either. 

That was when Luhan’s heart began to sink. Quickly he was pulling out his phone and trying to call Sehun as he walked back into the bedroom, going to stand by the table that still had a few empty glasses on it. There was no answer. So, he called again as his fingers anxiously drummed on the table.

Eventually the phone was answered. “Sehun, where-”  
_Lu!_ A chill went down Luhan’s spine at the sound of Sehun’s distressed voice. But, the laughter that came over the phone immediately made rage fill the man.  
_What did I tell you? You’re supposed to keep quiet. Luhan, I don’t know how you put up with the mouth on this one._  
“Listen here, I found you once, I-”  
_Oh, please, Luhan. You found me after how long? Besides.. You may want to worry about your boy here more. I’m sure you remember how difficult winters were on the streets. I wonder how long he’d last._

There was a long silence between them all as Luhan’s nails dug into the table. _I think your Lu is just now realizing what kind of situation you’re in, Sehunnie._ Luhan's head dropped down in defeat and he began to tremble when he heard the soft whimper come from Sehun.  
“What do you want?”  
_There you are._  
“Tell me what you want from me.” Luhan’s voice was on edge, but there was an underlying concern in his voice that he couldn’t hide.  
_Hmm.. Let me think about that.. Nothing! This is just for shits and giggles, really. What did I tell your friend I took a bat to? Payback. That’s all I want. And your darling dear here is going to be a great example since you jumped up my shit list today._

“Please let him go. Take me instead.”  
_Oh, no. I don’t think so. You’ve already experienced this before anyways. Where would the fun be in that? No.. I’m going to hang onto Sehun for a while. Hopefully you’ll do better at finding him than you did me. I don’t think he’ll be able to survive the cold winter like you could._  
“Jihyun-”  
_No, don’t talk to me. Tell your favorite stripper how much you love him._  
“Sehun, I’m going to find you. Okay?”  
_Lu, I’m at-_ Sehun’s voice was immediately silenced and Luhan couldn’t help but to stiffen, the fact that he couldn’t see what was going on made this all the worse.  
_Oh! That is not at all what I suggested! You’ve lost your chance, Luhan. Let’s hope you do find Sehun very quickly._

The line abruptly went dead and Luhan ran his hand through his hair at the realization of what was actually happening. Then the rage came out of him. With a yell Luhan flipped the table he was next to over, causing it to nearly fly across the room and shattering the few glasses that were previously on its surface.

\--

“What did I say about being quiet??” Jihyun spoke as he looked over at Sehun, whose mouth was covered with Jihyun’s hand as he held Sehun’s phone in his other. “But, it’s too late for that now. However, I’m going to go ahead and tell you that this room is soundproof. You won’t be heard, so trust me.. You’re not going to want to destroy your throat right away. Or hell.. Go for it. I don’t really give a damn.” Jihyun wore clear amusement on his face as he removed his hand from Sehun’s mouth who immediately spat in Jihyun’s face. 

Jihyun’s expression twisted into a scowl as his hand went to wipe the spit from his face. “You know.. I’ll let you get away with that one. But you do it again and I will break your jaw.” He practically growled before he stood up and walked to a corner of the room. The sounds of metal rustling cut through the silence. But, Jihyun didn’t turn to see Sehun struggle in the handcuffs he was in. He only worked on taking the sim card out of Sehun's phone before putting it on a shelf. 

“This place has shit for insulation. But, you’re lucky the sun will be up soon so you won’t have to suffer much tonight.” Jihyun finally turned to see the shirtless Sehun sitting on the floor with his hands over his head, the handcuffs he was in were nailed up to a beam, forcing him to stay in place. The fact he was shirtless was simply for Jihyun’s enjoyment, as it was going to get very interesting here in about two days. 

“Have a good night, Sehun.” Jihyun hummed as he walked out of the room, hearing Sehun pull against the cuffs once again. Then he left Sehun completely alone. 

\----

“Sehun’s gone..?”  
“Jihyun has him.”

Kyungsoo was the one that was stuck breaking the bad news to Kai early that morning. The younger man just woke up, but now he was scrambling to get out of the bed. “Hey, we have no leads on him. Luhan and Jongdae are on the streets. That’s the best we can do right now.” Kyungsoo tried to get his fiancé to settle down and stop, but the assassin was already putting on clothes. “ _Jongin._ ”

Finally, the man stopped to look at Kyungsoo. There was a wild look in his eyes as he went to grip onto the older’s arms. “He’s my friend, Soo. I have to go out looking for him.” With that, Kai let go of Kyungsoo to rush back into the closet to get a shirt to slip on so he could rush out of the bedroom, grabbing a pistol from his nightstand to take with him. 

“Be careful, at least.”

Kai didn’t answer him. But, his mind was too focused on going through that sewer Jihyun slipped into. 

No one was able to locate Sehun that day. But, Jongdae eventually found Luhan and was able to drag him off the streets and back to the mansion. No one heard from Kai all day. Not until he showed up around midnight to crumble into Kyungsoo’s arms. 

\----

Luhan was slipping as the days passed. He was a sleep deprived mess who was only able to do his job if it concerned finding Sehun. He was throwing himself into his work, but his mind wasn’t able to work beyond the fear much, which this led to him often smashing highball glasses. So, typically when someone, often Suho or Jongdae, would come into the room they’d see shattered glass littered on the floor around Luhan.

It was only the second full day of Sehun being missing, but it was already affecting the core of the family.

Sehun on the other hand was trying to accept his impending death. Jihyun “checked on him” throughout the day and was kind enough to give him bathroom breaks and a chance to stretch his legs. But, his hands were always cuffed behind his back, or above his head when he was pinned to the beam. His wrists were raw from him fighting against the cuffs, ugly and purple from the bruising but also dried blood crusted along his wrists and the handcuffs. 

Without warning Jihyun opened the door to the room Sehun was kept in. Sehun would’ve jumped, but he didn’t have the energy to. So, his eyes looked up at Jihyun as he walked over to take the nail out of the handcuffs that kept Sehun’s arms raised and against the beam. Sehun’s arms dropped down behind him as he let out a scratchy groan of pain from his wrecked throat. His arms ached so much..

“Stay with me, now.” Jihyun voiced as he stepped behind Sehun to undo the cuff off of one wrist so that Sehun wouldn’t be tied to the beam anymore. But, the wrist was quickly cuffed once Sehun’s arms were moved from around the beam. “Come on, get up.” With that, Jihyun picked Sehun up with a hand on his arm, more so yanking him to a standing position rather than help him up. Sehun’s legs were shaking as he put weight on them and if Jihyun wasn't holding him up he might've lost his balance.

After Sehun was given his fifteen minute break he was sat back down and “cuffed” to the beam. But, this time it appeared that Jihyun took pity on him and did not nail the handcuffs to the beam above his head so his arms didn’t have to be above his head. In fact he didn’t nail the cuffs to the beam at all. Jihyun stepped over to a cooler he sat at the door to the room when he entered and opened it to retrieve a water bottle. Sehun’s eyes immediately trained on Jihyun like a starved wild dog. Naturally his tongue dragged over his cracked lips, but it didn’t wet them at all. 

“Hmm? Are you thirsty?” Jihyun asked with a clear smirk as he looked down at Sehun. It was clear by his shirtless torso he was already losing muscle mass. Sehun, at this point, lost all the fight in him. He could only nod in defeat. “Use your words.” Jihyun’s words took on a sharp tone and Sehun actually wanted to cry right then and there if he could.  
“I’m thirsty.” Sehun’s voice was weak and scratchy when he spoke.  
“Be polite. Didn’t your mother ever teach you manners?” Jihyun added with his growing grin.  
“Can I please have a drink?” 

Slowly Jihyun crossed the room to squat in front of Sehun. “Take it slow.” With that Jihyun held the bottle of water to Sehun’s lips and the man generously began to drink out of it, unable to pace himself because of how good it felt on his raw throat. When he was about halfway done with the bottle Jihyun removed the bottle from his lips. Sehun’s eyes opened as he looked on in pain as Jihyun stood up to go back to the cooler. 

When Jihyun returned to squat in front of Sehun he held a sandwich in his hand. “I can’t have you starve on me.” The man sounded amused as he held the food up to Sehun’s face. Sehun was in no place to turn down the first meal he’d have in two days. And _oh_ , it was so good. He almost finished the sandwich before Jihyun pulled it away, only to offer the water bottle to Sehun’s lips. “Wash it down.” Sehun didn’t have to be told twice. 

Soon the water bottle was removed once again and the sandwich was back up at Sehun’s face so he could finish it. Sehun tried to savor every bite as if it was going to be his last, considering it might be exactly that. But, he was too hungry to make every last bite last. After he finished the sandwich Jihyun held the water back up to Sehun’s lips for him to finish off the water bottle. 

Once Sehun finished his meager meal Jihyun lingered around. “Dean was right, you are a handsome one.”  
“What..?” Sehun’s expression somehow fell even more as he bravely met his captor’s gaze.  
“He told me about the handsome stripper that he gave the little secret to. Although, the secret was a lie. Dean was _very_ good at lying. Seems like he even fooled you.” 

Immediately Sehun’s eyes widened in remembering that day all those years ago. _Damnit._ Dean masked any tells he might’ve had by having Sehun in his lap and touching him. Any signs of him lying could have easily been shrugged off by him eager to have a handsome man in his clutches. Jihyun let out a slight laugh at Sehun’s realization. But it soon faded away to give way to what appeared to be anger.

“I am curious though.. He did tell me that he told a handsome stripper during a private dance.. I know Dean far too well. He’s too handsy for private dances.. Why didn’t you get his ass kicked out? I know for a fact he put his hands on you.” Jihyun took on an accusatory tone with Sehun who seemed all too flustered to respond. He didn’t know why he didn’t have Luhan take him outside to get a kneecap busted for getting so touchy with him, especially since no touching is the biggest rule there. But, there was something else that was dawning on him in this moment.

“Are you.. Were you jealous..?” Sehun was scared to ask, but that’s what he was getting here from Jihyun. There was a definite shift in Jihyun’s posture as he became more stiff and rigid. But, he stood up from the man and walked away without a word, grabbing the cooler on the way out. “Have a good night, Sehun. It’s supposed to get cold tonight.” Jihyun said before shutting the door behind him, leaving Sehun all alone. 

While the hunger pains were miserable this entire day, he was able to at least try and ignore them. Now that he’s gotten a taste of food his stomach was absolutely ravenous. It was growling every fifteen minutes and it made Sehun whimper in pain each time. But, at least tonight would be the first night he could actually lay on the floor, curling up as best as he could since his arms were still essentially tied to the beam. 

The floor was cold cement, which left his lower half of his body sore from the lack of being able to move and have any support, while his arms were sore simply from them being raised above him for almost forty eight hours. His entire body hurt. But, as the hours passed he realized how right Jihyun was. A cold front must have blown in because he could hear the wind howling outside and he could feel the temperature dropping. So, he was left shaking on the cold floor. 

\-----

About a month later Baekhyun was out checking the abandoned warehouses to look for Sehun one day, hopeful to find his friend. But, like every other day, there was no sign of him. 

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out to see who texted him, but his eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he didn’t recognize the number. The unknown number sent him an address. But, his phone vibrated once again in his hand as another message appeared.

_Unknown:_  
_Come alone if you want your friend back, or I’ll slit his throat from ear to ear._

Baekhyun’s lips pursed together as he considered it. Really, there wasn’t too much to consider since he could not risk Sehun being in Jihyun’s clutches any longer. But, he was still nervous about going. So, he made a tough call. He copied and pasted the address into a text message to Kai.

_Baekhyun:_  
_If I don’t text you in about two hours, then I’ll probably need you here._

Okay, two hours should give him plenty of leeway time to not give it away he was planning for backup. Hopefully it wasn’t too long though.

_Kai:_  
_Got it._

After a short drive Baekhyun showed up at an old abandoned home, very similar to the one they previously found Jihyun in. Once again, it was a prime home to be burnt to the ground in a beautiful blaze of glory. It’d especially be nice on a cold evening like this, he thought as he pulled his brown coat over him even tighter. _Ah,_ if only he could be here for pleasure rather than business.

The front door was unlocked, so he let himself in before pulling the pistol from between the small of his back and his pants’ waistband, anxiously stepping through the home. Almost without him noticing his body was suddenly coated in chills as his hair stood on end. At first he didn’t understand why. But, after a moment he could finally register the faint smell of gasoline. Typically this would excite him, but now it terrified him. 

Yet, he pushed on deeper into the home, in hopes of finding Sehun. The only sounds that could be heard were the light creaking of the wooden boards underneath his feet with each step and the wind blowing outside. His stomach fell once he spotted the gasoline on the floor within what would be the kitchen area. 

This was a trap, it was far too obvious. Every bone in his body was screaming at him to turn tail and run out the door. But, saving Sehun was what drove him to keep walking and eventually clear the first floor.

The second floor was just as empty. 

So, once he walked back down to the first floor he swallowed back his nerves and started to descend down the basement stairs. His boots caused every step to moan even as he went as slowly as he could. Unlike the dim light that was offered upstairs it was completely dark in the basement. Baekhyun internally groaned before he fumbled in his pants’ pocket for a small LED flashlight. After he clicked it on he promptly stuck it in his mouth so he could have both his hands on his pistol and still be able to see where he’s going.

It was also then that the God awful stench hit him, causing his stomach to drop with his hopes of finding Sehun alive.

The light doesn’t illuminate too much at first as there wasn’t much to actually see in the large room. But, eventually his light shone on the corner of the room and sure enough, there was a body that matched Sehun’s profile and build slumped in the corner. Baekhyun put the pistol away for the moment and ran over to the corpse, taking note of the congealed blood on the man’s chest, but the blood was from an open wound on his neck. Quickly Baekhyun lifted up the man’s head to see his face and a sigh of relief left him. _Not Sehun._

But, that meant this was definitely a trap. 

He mentally apologized to the man for getting caught up in this before he pulled his phone out to send a simple quick text.

_Baekhyun:_  
_Now_

Once he pocketed his phone he booked it towards the stairs, turning off the flashlight and putting it away as he climbed the stairs, two steps at a time. He reached the top of the stairs and turned to go through a doorway to reach the front room. The second his feet passed the doorway’s barrier a pair of hands grabbed him. One immediately tangled itself into Baekhyun’s hair, tugging at his scalp, while the other grabbed his shoulder. The hand in his hair yanked his head down, drawing a cry from Baekhyun, while the other pushed his shoulder down. Suddenly the hands let go, making Baekhyun collide with the floor, face first. 

The man was dazed as he laid on the floor for half a moment. When Baekhyun’s mind finally began to work again his hands wildly went for the pistol at the small of his back. But immediately hands grabbed his wrists with an almost crushing force as the other person seemingly dropped to their knees to straddle Baekhyun. Baekhyun was struggling against the hands that were restricting his movement and he was also trying to roll over to at least try and get his hands free. 

The person managed to handle Baekhyun and even managed to hold onto his wrists with one hand. But, when Baekhyun felt a cuff slap around one of his wrists he suddenly found some extra strength in him to roll over and simultaneously rip one of his hands free, elbowing his attacker in the jaw, making the man groan in pain. 

“Oh, no. I don’t think so!” The man yelled out and immediately Baekhyun recognized Jihyun when he saw him. But, he didn’t get to see him for long before a fist connected with his cheek and jaw, dazing Baekhyun for another split second. It was barely long enough for Jihyun to slap the other cuff onto the metal space heater that they were next to that was bolted to the wall. Baekhyun’s free hand was grasping at Jihyun, trying to pull him down lower to be able to claw at his eyes or bite into him because Baekhyun was going to put up a hell of a fight. 

Baekhyun succeeded in pulling Jihyun closer and his hand went straight for his eyes, but Jihyun pulled his head back, leaving Baekhyun to claw his nails down his neck, earning a sharp hiss from him. Baekhyun’s feet were trying to get to where they could kick at Jihyun, but with the way Jihyun was straddling his hips, it was impossible for him to do so at the moment. So, another fist connected with Baekhyun’s face, hitting his eye and temple area this time. The punch dazed Baekhyun long enough for Jihyun to reach under Baekhyun to retrieve his pistol. 

Baekhyun was about to start fighting once again, but when his mind started to work again Jihyun was already standing up and moving away from him. He proudly noted the way there were four bleeding lines down the side of Jihyun’s neck. “That was more of a fight than I expected from you.” Jihyun commented and Baekhyun quickly moved to his hands and knees and began to tug on the handcuffs and the space heater to try and pull himself free, even if that meant tearing the space heater out of the wall with him.

“Get back down here and I’ll show you more of a fight!” Baekhyun shouted as he felt the cuffs bite into his bound wrist, quickly drawing blood.  
“You’re better off looking to a coyote stuck in a bear trap for inspiration.” Jihyun stated with a smirk as he stepped out of the room. “It was a pleasure knowing you!” His voice called out as Baekhyun continued to fight for his freedom.

It didn’t take long for Baekhyun to both smell and hear the gasoline ignite and spread throughout the home. _Shit, shit, shit!_ He was trying to pull his hand out of the cuff instead of tearing the heater off of the wall with him. Hey, he’s heard of people dislocating their thumbs to do this. That was better than burning alive wasn't it?

The fire was quickly spreading and Baekhyun was still no closer to getting out of the cuffs. “Come on, come on!” His hand felt like it was going to rip right off his body, and it sure looked like it by how much the cuff was cutting into his skin. 

The fire was now in the room he was in and he was sweating even more now due to the scorching heat he was feeling. If he was lucky the smoke would get to him first, but he knew that was not going to happen. He was not going to be lucky. The fire was spreading too quickly and he was going to burn alive in this hell hole. 

Maybe this was a fitting fate for the arsonist.

“ _Baekhyun!_ ” 

Kai’s voice over the now roaring flames was music to Baekhyun’s ears. “ _Kai! I’m over here!_ ” Baekhyun managed to call out before delving into a nasty coughing fit. Soon Kai was doing his damnedest to avoid the flames as he stormed into the room. When he saw Baekhyun he quickly pulled out his pistol. He continued his run up to Baekhyun and put the barrel on the chain of the cuffs before pulling the trigger, breaking it.  
“Let’s get the hell out.” Kai ordered more than suggested before helping Baekhyun up before running him to the nearest window. “Sorry about this.” He said before almost effortlessly picking the smaller man up and unceremoniously throwing him out the window before jumping out after him. Baekhyun was curled up and groaning on the ground outside from the pain he was finally registering. 

He didn’t get to stay there for long since Kai was picking him back up and rushing him over to his black car as the flames continued to engulf the home. 

\---

Lay was called by Kai and prepared to give Baekhyun a once over once he arrived at the mansion. He wasn’t taken to the OR, instead he was simply taken to a room in the medical wing. Once Baekhyun was in the room and sat on the bed by Kai Lay grabbed the oxygen mask and practically shoved it on Baekhyun’s face. “Hold this and take deep breaths.” He told him before turning back to Kai. “Don’t you dare call Chanyeol until I am done.” Lay’s voice actually sounded threatening, but he did not want Chanyeol in here distracting him. 

The handcuff that was still on Baekhyun’s wrist managed to get taken off before cleaning his wrist. Then he gave Baekhyun a general anesthetic, which the slightly smaller man almost cried over, before giving him a few stitches on his wrist. “You’re not going to want to move your wrist much, we’re going to have to clean it twice a day to avoid infection, and you’re going to have a mean black eye. But, otherwise you’ll be fine.” He said with a soft sigh. “Kai, please inform Chanyeol now.” Lay added without looking over his shoulder to Kai.

Lay excused himself once Baekhyun was bandaged up. He quickly retreated to his room, his exhaustion making him look beyond his age. Suho was quick to notice when Lay entered the room and shut the door behind him. Suho didn’t even say anything, only rushing over and gently grabbing Lay’s arm to lead him to the bathroom to shower with him. 

Once the pair were clean and dry Lay practically fell into the bed, the emotional hangover settling in on him. Suho frowned as he observed his lover, but slowly joined him in the bed to pull him close and then pull the blankets over them both, offering some warmth. 

“ _I can’t do this anymore.._ ” Lay meekly spoke up, indicating this swell of emotion he was feeling. Suho only pulled him closer so that Lay’s head was pressed against his chest.  
“Lay.. You can.”  
“But, Baekhyun was only off the radar for what..? An hour? And he almost got burned alive. How long has Sehun been missing?!” Suho wasn’t prepared for Lay to snap like this, as he’s never done so with him before. Either way, the older man shushed the younger as if he were a child.  
“I know. I know. But, we need you so when we find Sehun you can take care of him.”

Suho could now feel Lay shaking in his arms. “I’m so tired of seeing them all hurt..” Lay choked out as tears began to freely fall from him. One of Suho’s hands began to rub his back while the other ran itself through his hair. 

“It’s going to be okay.” He shushed Lay, but ultimately let him cry in his arms until he cried himself asleep. 

\---------

Another month passed and they still haven’t found Sehun. They’ve checked every abandoned building in the city, or at least that they knew of. And Sehun’s condition was beginning to rapidly detoriate. Jihyun has been hydrating Sehun a lot more often and he’s been forced to feed him a little bit more. But, his muscles have atrophied quite a bit and one could effortlessly count his ribs at this point. There was a space heater set on low in the corner in the room now, it was enough to keep Sehun from getting _too_ cold to prevent frostbite, but it didn’t help too much as he still was left trembling on the floor every night. 

Jihyun wanted Sehun to live for as long as possible.

Sehun was a shell of himself at this point. All he could think of was food, water, and warmth. He tried to keep Luhan out of his mind because if he dared to open that door he knew he’d end up breaking down and crying, which he couldn’t even afford that at this point. 

He’s become so numb that he doesn’t even react when Jihyun comes to visit him anymore. Every time that heavy metal door groans open Sehun doesn’t look up. He will still sleep until he’s woken or continue to look at the wall with a dead stare. So, when the door opened the only reaction that came from him was his stomach violently growling, hopeful that Jihyun brought food with him. But, otherwise he only laid there. The footsteps that approached him were hesitant, as he he laid with his back towards the door. Whenever he laid like this Jihyun always seemed to be concerned that he was dead. So, it was no surprise that this was the case now.

When he felt a warm hand on his arm to turn him over he finally blinked out of his stare, his stomach groaning once more. His glassed over eyes finally were able to _see_ and he blinked once again as he looked at the man above him.

“ _Kai?_ ”

Shit, he was going to die today if he was hallucinating. Today was his very last day alive. What a pity.

“ _Oh, Sehun._ Oh, Thank God.” Kai’s voice indeed came from his image above Sehun. “What has he done to you?”  
“Are you real..?” Sehun hazily asked as Kai was looking at his wrists before those dark eyes shot back over to Sehun’s.  
“Yes. I’m going to get you out of here and back to Lu. Okay??” Sehun didn’t even realize Kai pulled out some wire cutters to quickly break the chain of handcuffs, he was too focused on processing everything Kai said. Yet, he was still having difficulty processing it completely. 

Soon Kai pulled the far too skinny man into his arms and that’s when Sehun finally got a grip on reality and realized what was happening. If Sehun could actually cry he certainly would have as he leaned into Kai as much as he could to leach off of his warmth. “I need food, please..” Sehun managed to get out, feeling like he was going to starve right at this moment.  
“We’re going.” Kai said softly as he stood up with Sehun in his arms to get him away from this area as soon as possible. 

Sehun closed his eyes for what felt like only a moment before he was being placed into a car and Kai was struggling to put his black coat on Sehun’s still shirtless torso. When he realized his dead weight wasn’t helping he finally managed to sit up in the passenger seat to be able to help Kai out, as well as move his arms when prompted. Once that was done Kai was shutting the door to run over to the driver’s side of the car and immediately turning on the heat for Sehun. Sehun was struggling to zip up the warm coat with his shaky fingers while Kai began to drive them away from Sehun's death trap. Eventually, he managed to do so and he looked out the window to see that snow was falling. But, then he leaned his head back on the headrest and immediately fell asleep, feeling safe for the first time in two months.

He wasn’t aware that Kai was carrying him again once they were in the mansion. Instinctively Kai took him to the medical wing of the mansion first. This left everyone scrambling on the account that Kai didn’t call anyone to tell him he was on his way. So, he was more or less dropping Sehun in the bed of a room and then going to the kitchen as nurses went to get an IV on the man to hurry and get fluids in him considering it was easy to feel he was feverish and see his skin was very dry, and those were only the immediate symptoms of dehydration that they noticed.

Kai soon was bringing a full plate of food to Sehun’s room for the time being and sat it on the tray that could be moved over the bed so Sehun could wake up and eat. Kai gently rose Sehun and prompted him to eat, but warned him over and over to not eat too fast. Sehun seemed too sluggish to be able to even eat too fast, but he still sat up and seemed to more or less completely wake up at the sight of a full meal waiting for him. “Please..?” Sehun asked as he continued to look at the food, not daring to take a bite until he received some kind of confirmation. Jihyun was cruel and would put food right up to his lips, but if he didn’t say please, it’d get pulled away from him. It was going to be a hard habit to break. Kai’s wide eyes looked at his friend, unsure why he was asking for permission.  
“Of course.” He hesitantly answered and it was only then that Sehun began to eat.

It tasted so good that his eyes would have watered up if they could have. 

“You’re gonna want to get down to the third medical room.” That was all Kai said over his phone before hanging up to seemingly dial another number. Sehun was too focused on the food to exactly care in this moment. “Lay, I found him. He’s in the third medical room. He doesn’t need surgery, but I want you to give him a once over.” Sehun’s interest peaked at the mention of Lay’s name. He momentarily looked up at Kai, hopeful he was going to see another friend soon. But, Sehun was too hungry to ignore his food for long.

He didn’t even react when he heard the door to the room fly open. Nor did he react to the sound of someone rushing towards him. He was still so focused on his food. But, suddenly warm arms were wrapped around him and pulling him against someone’s chest. At first Sehun actually opened his mouth to complain since he wanted to finish his meal. But, then that expensive amber cologne hit Sehun’s nostrils and he didn’t even have to look to know who it was. 

Immediately his hands abandoned his food completely to grip onto the arms wrapped around him as he naturally leaned into the man’s grip. “ _Lu.._ ” Sehun managed to choke out and he felt the man squeeze onto him even tighter.  
“I’m so sorry, Sehun.” Luhan’s voice was the most beautiful sound Sehun’s heard in a very long time, even if it sounded so sad. 

He didn’t know how long they stayed like that. But, eventually Sehun could hear Kai clear his throat, so Luhan lightly pulled away, no matter how hard Sehun gripped onto him. “I think you should let Lay give him a once over and he needs to finish his meal, Luhan.” Kai’s voice bravely interrupted the two’s moment, but Kai was Sehun’s friend. He knew he would have plenty of time to be with Luhan later now that he was safe. 

Reluctantly, Luhan pulled away from Sehun, even if Sehun was still holding onto his arm, albeit with a weak grip. So, the two were momentarily separated, but Luhan quickly went over to the other side of the bed to climb in it to at least be close to Sehun. Lay made his approach to do as much of an exam as he could on Sehun and give his wrists a proper look over. They were already scarred over, so Lay wasn’t exactly worried about them right now. Once that was done Lay simply gave Sehun a large hug, “You’ll be okay. We need to get your weight back up to a healthy level, but you’ll be okay. I’m so thankful Kai found you.” Lay softly spoke as he hugged the now whimpering Sehun. 

Lay pulled away and excused himself, knowing he could see more of Sehun tomorrow and would rather give him and Luhan some time together. Kai then walked up to Sehun whose attention was turning back to his plate. “Once you finish that, it’s all for the night other than water. Don’t push yourself.”  
“Yes, mom..” 

It seems some things never do change. 

Kai smiled down at Sehun, who nervously glanced up at him. “Thank you.”  
“It’s what I do.”  
“It’s not.”  
“Whatever you say. Just get some rest. Is there anything I can get you..?”  
“You know that pizza joint we ordered from all the time?” Sehun questioned after a long moment of thought.  
“Yeah, the sketchy as hell one?”  
“Yes. I want a pizza from there.” 

Kai and Luhan both shared a weak laugh at this, but Sehun nervously looked down at his scarred wrists, “Please..” He quietly added to his statement, immediately silencing the two men in the room. Kai solemnly nodded his head in response.  
“I’ll order you one tomorrow. Don’t let the nurses know because I’m sure they’d get onto me for feeding you something so unhealthy so soon.”

With that, Kai gave Luhan a nod and said his goodnights so he could leave the pair. Once Kai was out of the room Sehun focused back on his food. But, once that was done he immediately laid down and wanted to do nothing but sleep for a few years. Even if his eyes were already shut he reached out for Luhan, feeling like he needed him like he needed air to breathe. Luhan didn’t need much more encouragement than that to move over to Sehun’s side of the bed and curl up with the man and hold him close, so very thankful that his lover was back in his arms and safe again. 

“I love you.”  
“I love you too, Lu...”

Sehun was very quick to fall asleep, but Luhan stayed awake the entire night as if he was afraid that he’d fall asleep and Sehun would be gone again when he woke up. 

\----

The pair were given a full twenty four hours together before Kris, Suho, and Xiumin descended upon them with their questions. Sehun was very much thankful that Luhan and Kai were with him so he didn’t feel so pressured under the stern gazes of the three older men. “Where’d he keep you? We looked everywhere.” Suho was the first one to start in and Sehun felt all too grateful when Kai answered for him considering his mind was a little fuzzy on some of the details.

“We.. Actually checked where he was at. It was an abandoned bar close to the docks. We looked there, but could not find him. Recently one of Luhan’s contacts told him about how there was a hidden passageway in that bar behind a liquor cabinet for a illegal gambling ring back in the day.” Sehun didn’t know that he could’ve been found much sooner. That definitely stung. But, he tried to not hold it against them. 

“He didn’t beat you.” Xiumin stated more than asked with a carefully neutral expression, especially when Luhan’s gaze locked onto him.  
“Once..” Sehun whispered out as he looked down, suddenly feeling so sympathetic for Xiumin and Jongdae, despite the fact he went through hell as well. He knew the beating he received was nothing in comparison to the one that Jongdae received. All it was was a few punches one day when Jihyun came to tend to him, so all the bruising has already healed. He knew Jihyun had a terrible day that night due to the scratches on his neck, and he knew he was simply an outlet for Jihyun’s frustrations.

He was so thankful Luhan was next to him, but he still scooted closer towards him, silently seeking more comfort. “I just.. I don’t get his motivations.” Xiumin shook his head as his hand went to pinch the bridge of his nose.  
“He wanted me to experience Luhan’s pain when he-” Sehun finally realized what he was saying and stopped to look at Luhan, not wanting to overstep himself.  
“When I was on the streets.” Luhan sighed as he met Sehun’s gaze, his hand reaching over to run through Sehun’s hair. It was going to have to be cut soon since it hasn’t been in, well, over two months. 

“And there’s the Baekhyun situation..” Suho added as he looked over at Kris, but Sehun didn’t know anything about what happened to Baekhyun.  
“What..?” He looked at Luhan, but Luhan simply shook his head in response to the younger’s concern.  
“He’s fine, we can talk about it later.” He quickly closed that line of questioning before it really began.  
“Is he using our pasts..?” Kris muttered mostly to Suho in thought as he gave his advisor a sidelong look.  
“Anything is on the table at this point.” Suho responded with a halfhearted sigh.

“We need to find him.” Kris declared, as he’s done countless times already. But, it still earned nods from the others. Well, except Sehun who was still focused on Luhan. “Sehun, please get some rest.” Sehun’s attention snapped over to Kris with wide eyes before giving him a nod.


	4. Chapter 4

Sunlight was filtering into the bedroom from the windows as the couple inside of it were curled up together in the bed. “Kai..” Kyungsoo’s husky voice broke through the shared silence between the two. Kai’s head lifted up from Kyungsoo’s chest to look at him.  
“Hmm?” Kai didn’t exactly bother to speak as his head leaned in to press a kiss against Kyungsoo’s jawline. When he pulled away his lips lazily dragged up on his skin a little.  
“Why don’t we get married today?” 

Suddenly Kai was wide awake as he sat up more so he could properly look at Kyungsoo. “What?” Kai’s question caused Kyungsoo to let out a heavy sigh.  
“What’s been happening the past few months reminded me of our.. Mortality. If one of us goes tonight, heavens forbid.. I want to know that we at least married while we were still together.” The older of the two reasoned as he looked up at the bronze assassin above him. His hand reached up to rub a dark purple mark he left on Kai’s neck last night.

Kai’s silence kept Kyungsoo talking.

“We can go buy our wedding rings, go to the courthouse house and then go get drinks with the guys later.. A ceremony and honeymoon can wait until after all this.. Shit blows over.” There was that flash of uncertainty in Kyungsoo’s eyes like there was he when he proposed. “Let’s get carried away.. What do you say?” 

Lips immediately descended onto Kyungsoo's as one of Kai’s hands found Kyungsoo’s to interlock their fingers. He heavily leaned into Kyungsoo, as if he wanted to pin him to the bed forever. The kiss was heavy, yet lazy all at the same time. But, that was exactly what Kai liked. When the kiss was finally broken after a few minutes Kai remained a hair’s breadth away from Kyungsoo’s lips. “Let’s do it.” He spoke with a firmness that suggested he meant exactly what he said. So, Kyungsoo didn’t double check with him, he only kissed his fiancé once more, eager to legally be bound to him.

Once more, the kiss was broken. “We should get up and go then..” Kyungsoo muttered as he tried to sit up but Kai pushed him back down in the bed.  
“It can wait a little longer.”

\---

“Kris.. It’s early, what are you doing in here?” Tao’s voice echoed in the large meeting room. Kris was simply sitting in his chair at the table, with a thousand yard stare directly in front of him. He didn’t even seem to react to Tao’s approach.  
“Thinking.” He muttered as Tao rounded the table to come up next to him. Kris was leaned over the table as his eyes watched the closed double doors as if they were going to open at any moment. Yet, when he felt Tao’s hand on his shoulder he decided to at least lean back in the chair he was seated in. Tao quickly decided to make himself at home and slid himself into Kris’s lap. “ _Tao._ ” Kris’s voice was full of warning, as if he was not in the mood. But, Tao paid him no mind.

“ _Hmm?_ ” Tao asked with a coy tone as he leaned back into the armrest of the chair as his fingers ran along Kris’s jawline. Yet, one of Kris’s large hands came up to grab his own to halt it in its tracks.  
“Don’t test me right now. Please.” Kris sounded so out of it in this moment, Tao couldn’t exactly tell if he was serious. So, he pressed on.  
“Come on~” He purred as he looked up at Kris, “What’s the matter?” He asked before he leaned in to press a kiss against Kris’s hand that held his own midair.

“Tao, you know how I feel about this room.” Kris muttered as he pulled his hand away away from Tao’s lips, but didn’t let go of his hand. “Get up.” Tao let out a heavy breath as he looked at Kris. This room was all business for Kris and Tao was supposed to be very careful in how he behaved himself in here. But, no one else was here. It was only them in this large room. Tao always got away with everything else, so he didn’t see how sitting in his lap was a problem right now. So, he didn’t make an effort to move.

Kris continued to give him a pointed look, but otherwise didn’t do much else. Slowly a smirk appeared on Tao’s lips when he realized he was getting away with this. He leaned forwards to give Kris a kiss on the lips, eager to prove that he definitely could get away with anything.

“ _Enough._ ”

Tao froze at the harsh word. He knew the tone Kris was using was his “working” voice and it managed to send a chill down his spine. He pulled away with wide eyes and a look of shock on his face, but Kris’s expression didn’t soften. So, Tao slipped out of Kris’s lap, looking like a scolded dog. 

He was surprised when Kris stood up from his chair once Tao was out of his lap. They would have almost been eye to eye if Tao was looking up at him, but he did not have the courage to. Kris almost never used his working voice on him and when he did it was typically to get Tao to do something to keep him safe. Never has it been used like this. 

“ _Look at me._ ” 

Tao actually flinched when Kris spoke again. He never flinched when Kris used his working voice, not like the others. But, never has it been turned on him before. Even so, he wasn’t going to keep Kris waiting, so his eyes slowly dragged up to Kris’s. His expression still wasn’t soft. But, his eyes were still the same eyes that always looked at Tao like he was the world. A large hand cupped his cheek and Tao instinctively leaned into his touch. 

“Listen, I’m sorry I got onto you. But, you need to remember who is actually the boss here.” Kris was now back to himself, no longer in his kingpin role. Tao didn’t notice all the tension immediately leave his body when Kris regarded him as he usually did. “Do you forgive me?” Kris barely finished his sentence before Tao was fervently nodding his head, knowing that if anything he should be apologizing. 

Kris leaned to give Tao a kiss that quickly turned passionate with Kris making a point of taking lead in it. But, it didn’t even last a minute before Kris was pulling away with a faint hint of a smile on his face. “I came here to think. Give me a few more minutes alone and I’ll go find you in our room, okay?” Kris was once again soft in how he spoke to Tao and Tao was quick to nod in agreement.  
“Okay. Please don’t take too long.” Tao asked of his lover before planting another quick kiss on his lips. Then he turned heel to quickly leave the room. 

\-----

Kyungsoo and Kai finally managed to leave the mansion for the day, both already donning proper suits for the occasion in mind. But, they stopped by the best jeweler in the city as they browsed the rings. Neither of them were particularly fancy in taste when it regarded their rings. So, they both settled on black tungsten bands, namely because Kyungsoo wanted Kai to have a ring that could break. He wanted to make sure that his husband-to-be wouldn’t lose a finger over his ring if he was caught in a sticky situation. 

After they got their wedding bands they were off to the courthouse. 

Within ten minutes of getting to the courthouse the pair were saying their I do’s, exchanging rings, and were pronounced husbands. 

That was it.

Well, not counting the rather heated makeout session in the parking lot afterwards. But, once that even came to an end the two took the time to enjoy the silent moment together.

“I’m going to call Kris.” Kyungsoo finally broke their silence and Kai nodded as Kyungsoo dug for his phone out of the black suit jacket pocket. Eventually he manage to get Kris on the line. “Hey, uhm.. Do you think everyone could meet up for dinner? ... Yeah, outside the mansion. … Um, because Kai and I just eloped to the courthouse and are now officially married.”

At that even Kai could hear the surprised “really” from Kris. But, eventually they seemed to agree on on a place to go eat at and Kyungsoo and Kai then drove to the restaurant to get a private room for everyone. 

\---

Jongdae was finally allowed to leave the mansion, which was always met with resistance by Xiumin. But, the pair compromised and Xiumin reluctantly agreed to go out on the streets with Xiumin. It was tiring on Jongdae’s part because despite still going to the gym daily, he still hasn’t completely built up his strength. But, he did his best to hide the sweat he broke from Xiumin.

Jongdae also managed to talk Xiumin into sticking with casualwear that would help the man blend in rather than look like a prime piece of man. So, hoodies it was, especially considering the cold weather. But, the pair had an agenda today. Jongdae wanted to return to the kids to see how they were doing. Luhan has been tending to them, but this was Jongdae’s job. Not to mention some of the teenagers would turn Lord of the Flies if someone didn’t keep them in line. 

Jongdae felt responsible for them, maybe as if they were his own surrogate children. That made him anxious for Xiumin to be around them. He knew few details about Xiumin’s past, but he knew he did not have a good childhood. So, he worried that this might affect him somehow. Yet, Xiumin remained as stoic as he always did. 

It was funny how quiet the warehouse the kids holed up in always was on approach. But, he knew they probably saw them in their approach and the reaction was always the same, to hide so no one got too curious and found them. But, the moment Jongdae stepped into the warehouse and announced himself it got really rather loud from the excited noises the younger ones made. However, they all approached cautiously since Xiumin was a stranger to them. But, slowly they all made their way to give Jongdae a hug. 

One little girl in particular didn’t want to let go of Jongdae. “I’m sorry.. I didn’t know..” Jongdae could hear the tears in her eyes as the girl who he previously played tag with apologized.  
“Hey, it’s okay. I believe you. We’re still friends, right?” Jongdae assured her with a bright smile and a pat on the head.

“Who’s he?” A wary teenaged boy spoke up as he nodded towards Xiumin. Xiumin looked at the boy before looking at Jongdae, clearly unsure how to act in this situation.  
“His name is Xiumin.”  
“Is.. He with the state?” Jongdae couldn’t help but to laugh at the question.  
“No, he’s one of my bosses actually.”  
“Oh.. Then why is he here? It’s always either you or Luhan.”

_Teenagers._

“He’s also my boyfriend.”

Xiumin gave Jongdae a rather pointed look, as if to remind him to be cautious about who knew about their relationship. But, the few surprised giggles from the younger ones seemed to relax the older man. Not to mention all the teenagers seemed to relax, not so worried about Xiumin anymore. 

“I brought food and blankets.” At that the older kids knew to come help Jongdae get things out of the car. 

Food, water cases, blankets, and warm sweaters were brought into the warehouse and even Xiumin seemed to relax and open up a little to the kids. One young boy even openly approached Xiumin and tugged his sleeve until he bent over some. “ _Do you kiss Jongdae?_ ” He asked in a hush whisper and Xiumin could only laugh at the question, completely unable to respond.

When Xiumin was able to return to Jongdae’s side an older boy who was getting close to adulthood was talking with Jongdae. Jongdae looked far more serious than he has looked all day and Xiumin only caught the tail end of the conversation. “... You’re sure about this? You know once you take that step you can’t turn away from it and try and lead a clean lifestyle, right?”  
“I’m sure about it.”  
“I can speak with Luhan. But, working for us is dangerous and ugly work. Look at what happened to me a few months ago. That was just payback because I beat someone to death with a bat.”  
The boy winced for a moment, but his resolve seemed to return. “I’m sure.”  
“No, I want you to think on it for a full month. Got it?”  
“Okay.”

Before Xiumin could ask about the conversation his phone began to ring in his pocket. So, after sending Jongdae a questioning look he answered his phone. “Hello?” Kris was on the other line and at first Xiumin looked all business. But, eventually a faint smile appeared on his face. “Yeah, we can wrap up things up and head that way.” He agreed to whatever was spoken on the other line before he nodded towards the exit.

“What is it?” Jongdae asked curiously as he walked towards the exit with Xiumin.  
“The lovebirds eloped and had a wedding. We’re going to go celebrate.”  
“Are you serious?” Jongdae asked with a bright grin and laughed at the very idea of them being sneaky and running off in the middle of the night together. 

After saying their goodbyes to the kids, the pair left to meet up with the others. They didn’t care to go change beforehand either. But, on the car ride over Xiumin did quietly express how he wanted to come with Jongdae to care for the kids more often.

\---

Lay and Suho have been spending most of their time with Luhan and Sehun. Well, mostly Sehun so that Luhan could go to work knowing someone was with Sehun. His condition has certainly improved, but they only found him about a week ago. But, at least he could stand on his own without feeling faint anymore. It was a start. 

Suho was the one that got the call from Kris. At first the other three watched him with bated breath, but when Suho let out a soft chuckle they all seemed to relax. “We’ll be there.” Once he was off the phone he explained the situation to the others and Sehun sat straight up in the hospital bed. 

“I’m going to beat his ass.”  
“Who?” Luhan asked his lover with amusement written all over his face.  
“Kai. He didn’t tell me.”  
“He didn’t tell anyone.” Suho pointed out but that didn’t seem to calm Sehun at all.  
“I also don’t think you’re in the shape to be beating anyone’s ass right now.” Lay spoke up, at least earning Sehun’s attention.  
“Can I go to celebrate at least?” Sehun asked as he turned to look at Luhan, who looked back over to Lay.  
“Yeah, I can sit on the other side of him while we eat. But, Sehun, you have to tell me if you start to feel unwell.”  
“I will.” He assured Lay with a firm nod.

With that, Lay walked over to the IV pole to stop the fluids and unhook it from the IV in his arm. “I’m not going to take the IV out that way we don’t have to stab you again.” Sehun softly thanked Lay as the man taped the IV against his arm so it’d be less likely to catch on anything.  
“We will step out so you two can get ready. But, we will ride over with you.” Suho announced and wrapped his arm around Lay once Lay backed off of Sehun to gently lead him out of the room.

“I wonder why they didn’t tell anyone.” Lay mused out loud as the couple walked down the halls and up towards their bedroom to put on some nicer clothes.  
“It sounds like it was a last minute decision.” Suho shrugged his shoulders and Lay let out a soft “hmph” sound in thought. “I get why they did it though.”  
“You do?” Lay looked over at Suho with a raised brow.  
“They got married while they still could. It’s not a bad idea.”

Lay wasn’t sure why that statement caused his cheeks to get a little pink.

\---

Chanyeol and Baekhyun both healed up by now, but now have becoming increasingly overprotective of each other. So, now the pair were bickering even about leaving the mansion alone. 

“Chanyeol. I can do what I want.”  
“No you can’t.” The taller of the two quickly shot Baekhyun down as he pulled him into his lap while Chanyeol sat at his desk.  
“Yes I can! I’m the older of us!” Chanyeol actually let out a low chuckle in Baekhyun’s ear, causing him to shudder.  
“And I’m the larger one in the relationship, so what?” Chanyeol muttered in a husky tone that was making Baekhyun want to get up and go lock the door to Chanyeol’s office and not worry about going out to go get some junk food.  
“Respect your elders you gremlin.” Baekhyun still fired back, using an old nickname that made Chanyeol grin in response. Baekhyun could feel him grinning against his skin as Chanyeol leaned into the crook of Baekhyun’s neck. The older shuddered once again as he felt teeth brush against his skin. “You’re a brat.” He huffed, but Chanyeol nipped at his neck, silencing him. It was then that Baekhyun leaned back into Chanyeol, giving up completely.  
“That’s what I thought.” Chanyeol hummed, only making Baekhyun roll his eyes.  
“I will get up off your boney legs and leave.”

It was then that Chanyeol’s phone went off, so the younger reluctantly answered it.

With Baekhyun being this close to Chanyeol he could hear every word said between Chanyeol and Kris. “Looks like you’re going to have to get up anyways.” Chanyeol spoke with a soft sigh once he hung up the phone.

\---

Once everyone got to the restaurant and sat down meals were ordered, but not before everyone congratulated the happy couple. Although Sehun did threaten to dump Kai in a ditch for not telling him beforehand. Kai only told him to go sit down since he was still so very underweight that it was unlikely he could even push Kai, let alone dump his body anywhere. 

For the first time in a few months everyone wore bright smiles on their faces. Lay was truly happy for everyone. Although, his smile visibly faltered when Sehun leaned over to Luhan to quietly whisper a “please” once their food arrived. He hasn’t been able to break the habit yet, but he’s at least been able to be quiet about it. Luhan replied with a soft “of course” and that was when Sehun finally began to eat his food.

Otherwise everyone was happy and enjoying the evening. Jongdae was purposefully asking the married couple dumb questions like “So, Kyungsoo, what do you think about your _husband’s_ suit?” Just so he could say the word “husband” as much as possible. 

Lay was thankful to Kyungsoo and Kai for running off and getting married. They inadvertently created a distraction from all the pain the family has gone through this year. But, the couple seemed more enamoured with each other than they’ve ever been and it was sweet to see them so wrapped in each other. It also made Lay grin every time he caught sight of the rings on their fingers. It was cute. 

Once it started to get late they all departed from the restaurant to return back to the mansion. As always, it was back to work. But, everyone at least enjoyed the rest of the night with their respective partner, dragging out this content feeling everyone had for as long as they could.

Jongdae and Xiumin actually were seen giggling on the way back to their bedroom, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see it from Jongdae. But, Xiumin joined him in it. It seems as if Jongdae’s playfulness was infectious for tonight. 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol were going to have more bite marks by the end of the evening. But, even so their playful bickering continued throughout the night. 

Tao went out of his way tonight to make up to Kris for aggravating him earlier in the day and Kris decided he needed to get onto Tao more often.

Luhan ended up making the heart monitor attached to Sehun go off very quickly once they were alone. After the nurses ran in the room to check on him and left a little flustered Luhan laughed off the experience with Sehun before simply turning off the machine for now.

Lay and Suho’s evening was not as desperate and needy as their previous nights have been as of late. Finally, it was back to that tender passion that Lay absolutely relished in. 

Kyungsoo and Kai, on the other hand, were definitely going to be up all night getting lost in each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came about mostly to make up for all the tears I made my best friend shed with this work thus far. 
> 
> Sorry if it's a bit of a shorter chapter.
> 
> Enjoy your fluff while you can my friends.


	5. Chapter 5

Sometime in the afternoon Suho paid Lay a nice little visit. The two excused themselves from the giggly nurses and went to close themselves off in Lay’s office. Apparently there was a specific thing on Suho’s mind because as soon as the door was shut behind them he locked it before placing a hand on Lay’s hip to pull him closer. Lay knew that Suho wanted to get his mind off of everything if he was making a move this quickly. 

So, instead of actually letting Suho pull him closer Lay pulled out of his grasp and took his hand to walk him over to his desk. Lay’s hands went to latch onto Suho’s hips once he got close to the desk. The moment Suho bumped into the desk Lay lifted him up just enough to perch him on the edge of the desk so that Lay could make it clear he was taking lead here. If Suho needed to stop thinking about the world Lay would make sure of that. Immediately his lips attached themselves to Suho’s, kissing him until he was certain that the man was out of breath. 

Lay’s lips were descending down to Suho’s neck while his hands were tightly gripping onto the older’s hips. He nipped and sucked on Suho’s Adam’s Apple to create an angry looking mark, causing the man to tilt his head back. Lay did not let up until he heard Suho let out a groan. Only then did his fingers start to tug at the waistband of Suho’s pants, causing Suho’s breathing to hitch. Suho started to shift on the desk while he pulled Lay closer to him, desperate for more of his touch.

Lay’s phone began to ring.

Both men swore as Lay reluctantly pulled away to answer his phone, not checking the ID. “What is it?” He actually sounded irritated, which is rare, but he was in the middle of something, or someone.  
_Lay you’re going to want to run to Xiumin’s office to defuse a situation before someone dies. I mean run. If you can call Suho to come at the same time, please do._

Jongdae sounded furious and Lay could hear arguing in the background. But, immediately once Jongdae was done he hung up, leaving Lay a little flustered as he tried to come back down off the high he got from his moment with Suho. “We gotta run to Xiumin’s office. Come on.” Lay muttered before pulling away from Suho completely to go unlock his door and bolt towards Xiumin’s office.

\------

Going to the bank was a routine deal for Kyungsoo and Xiumin. The men often went to put Tao’s “finds” in safety deposit boxes until they were no longer as hot and easier to sell. It was no different today. Both men walked into the bank and asked to go to their safety deposit boxes. Of course, they knew the rules. One at a time. 

Kyungsoo stepped in first, as per usual, leaving Xiumin to wait around in the lobby until it was his turn. He took a seat and opened up his messages on his phone, looking at Jongdae’s texts he sent him. 

_Jongdae:_  
_I need you to hurry back._

Xiumin’s eyebrows furrowed, suddenly concerned that either Jongdae wasn’t feeling well or something happened with Sehun. 

_Xiumin:_  
_Why?_

_Jongdae:_  
_I might be in a mood right now.._

An amused smirk appeared on the man’s lips as he looked at Jongdae’s text message. He knew the other man was likely to start getting whiny.

_Xiumin:_  
_You can wait._

_Jongdae:_  
_But I really can’t._

_Xiumin:_  
_But you really can._

_Jongdae:_  
_Ughhhhhhhhhh. You’re the worst._

_Xiumin:_  
_I’ll remember that._

Xiumin did not realize how much time actually passed as he sat there shooting texts back and forth between he and Jongdae. Jongdae seemed to have that effect on him. So when he did finally look at the time his eyebrows furrowed once again. This process of dropping off items and taking some out didn’t take that long. Not unless Kyungsoo was checking his phone to see if some of the items, which was mostly diamonds or jewelry, were still hot on the market.

Kyungsoo should be done by now.

Rising to his feet, Xiumin finally pocketed his phone to walk back into the little hallway where the man with all the keys to the safety deposit boxes stood waiting. “He hasn’t come out yet?” Xiumin inquired of the more heavy set man who shook his head. Xiumin gnawed on his bottom lip in thought. He knew the bank rules, one person at a time. But, something did not feel right at all. So, he threw all caution to the wind and stepped up to the door, despite the man telling him he could not do that.

He opened the door and found nothing but safety deposit boxes. The one that Kyungsoo opened wasn’t even out on the table in the center of the room. There were no other doors. There was only one way in and one way out.

With a curl of his upper lip Xiumin turned around to the man who has stood by the door the entire time. “Where is he?” Xiumin’s voice was not raised, it was low and cold and the man’s wide eyes looked at the empty room and then back to Xiumin.  
“I don’t know.”  
“You’re going to escort me around the bank then until we find my friend.”

The man didn’t respond.

“Do not make me repeat myself,” Xiumin growled, mentally reminding himself of the pistol inside his suit vest.  
“Yes sir.”

With that, Xiumin was escorted around the bank, no one really raising an eyebrow since Kris did essentially own this bank. He even went to look around the alleyways for any suspicious signs.

No Kyungsoo.

Xiumin returned to the mansion, calling Jongdae ahead of time and telling him about the situation. He could essentially hear the balloon that was Jongdae’s eagerness for Xiumin to return deflate. “Bring Kai to my office. He needs to be the first to know.” Xiumin was making a gamble by not going to Kris first. But Kai deserved that much. 

When he returned to the mansion he immediately went to his office, taking long strides to get him there quicker that usual. When he got there he found Jongdae sitting on the edge of Xiumin’s desk watching Kai pace back and forth. But, he stopped as soon as the door opened and his attention completely went to Xiumin.

“Where’s Kyungsoo?” 

The obvious question came immediately. Kai knew Kyungsoo was with Xiumin, but he clearly wasn’t anymore. Xiumin’s lips pursed together as he shut the door behind him. 

“ _Xiumin._ ” Kai’s voice was a touch higher in pitch. Xiumin could understand why, the pair have only been married a few days and now something was threatening their union.  
“I don’t know where’s he at.” Sure, Xiumin’s bedside manner could use some work. But, at least he didn’t beat around the bush.  
“Excuse me?”  
“I’m sorry. But, when we went to the bank we got separated. I looked for him to no avail. I wanted you to know before I told Kris.”  
“You lost him?” Kai’s voice took a dangerous turn as he approached Xiumin until he was only a couple of feet from him and was purposefully looking down at the older man with a scowl on his face. It was now that Jongdae stood up from sitting on the desk. 

“Kai, trust me. If anyone understands how you feel, it’s me. But, _do not_ -”  
“ _No._ You have _no right_ to tell me you understand. You lost my husband!” Kai finally raised his voice as his fist clenched until his knuckles were white. Xiumin no longer looked sympathetic, his eyes were narrowed as he glared back up at Kai.  
“ _Kai.._ ” Jongdae spoke up as he hesitantly approached the two, his phone out likely to text someone.  
“This is your fault, Xiumin!” Kai now was yelling at Xiumin as he took another deadly step towards him.

In the corner of his eye Xiumin could see Jongdae put the phone to his ear, but it was Xiumin’s turn to snap. “ _Kai._ I’m going to give you one chance to back off.”  
“You know what, Xiumin. I want you to try me! I can guarantee you that I will put you in one of those hospital rooms.” Kai leaned in close until Xiumin and he were basically sharing breath, clearly only seeing red in this moment.  
“Back off right now, or I will put you in your place.” Xiumin warned and it was then that Kai physically pushed back, placing his hands on Xiumin’s chest and gave him a shove. 

“ _Hey!_ ” Jongdae’s shouted out as he quickly put himself in between the two as Xiumin quickly recovered and was about to step forward. “Stop being a jerk and think about Kyungsoo!”  
“I AM!” Kai was now in Jongdae’s face. “But, if Xiumin would have kept his eyes on him we wouldn’t be in this situation. And if he dies, Jongdae.. I swear on everything I will end Xiumin.” 

It was Jongdae’s turn to snap. 

Immediately his hands reached out to grab Kai’s coat as he pulled him down to Jongdae’s eye level and until they were only about a foot apart. “You’re bordering real close to treason, Kai. _Watch yourself,_ ” Jongdae growled in a low tone. “You touch Xiumin again and I’ll take care of you how I took care of Dean.” 

Kai’s hands pried Jongdae’s off of his coat, but did not move away from him. “Give me a reason,” Jongdae added with another growl 

The door opened. 

“You don’t have the skill.” Kai ignored the sound of more people coming into the room. 

“ _Enough._ ” Suho’s voice was full of warning as his hands grabbed both Kai and Jongdae to pull the pair apart.  
“Get your hands off of me.” Kai yanked away from Suho and Jongdae pushed against Suho’s grasp, clearly trying to get at Kai like a vicious dog trying to get at a cat. 

“What is going on?” Lay hesitantly spoke up as he walked over to stand next to Suho, so he could put himself between the visibly furious three if he needed to.  
“This son of a bitch might’ve just got my husband killed!” Kai snapped out, causing Xiumin to step around from Jongdae so Lay stepped forward to block Xiumin from getting at Kai.  
“Easy, Xiumin.. You’re above this.” Lay was trying to appeal to Xiumin rather than the other two, he did hold the highest station in the room. The surgeon could see Xiumin’s tongue drag across the front of his teeth, but then the man reluctantly nodded even if he didn’t take a step away from Lay.  
“Someone answer Lay properly this time.” Suho tried to get the full story again.

“I went to the bank with Kyungsoo, as I always do. We have to split up when we go to the safety deposit boxes, _as always_. And somehow he’s gone without a trace.” Xiumin finally offered up an explanation.  
“Okay, look. It’s not your fault, Xiumin. Kai, it’s not his fault,” Lay stated as he looked between the two men, Kai still wearing a scowl while Xiumin merely seemed unimpressed. “We need to tell Kris. Okay? Then we can properly go look for him. Alright??” Lay was speaking calmly and softly, trying to make the men realize that they should make a plan.  
“So stop your petty bickering and actually try and find Kyungsoo.” Suho added in with a firm tone to make it clear what they needed to do. Finally, he let go of Jongdae who shot Kai a look of warning before moving until he was literally shoulder to shoulder to Xiumin. 

“Do we all agree that we need to put this to the side and call Kris?” Lay prompted as he looked at everyone. But, everyone’s eyes eventually turned to Kai. After letting out a sigh the youngest in the room nodded his head, causing everyone to relax.  
“I’ll give him the call then.” Suho muttered as he pulled out the phone to call Kris, quickly putting it on speaker phone.

\-------

To say Kris was livid was an understatement. 

Immediately he wanted nothing more than a show of force as they tried to find Kyungsoo. Luhan was informed to try and get his spy network on the lookout. But, almost everyone else was gathered with Kris. This included himself, Xiumin, Suho, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Kai. The six of them left the mansion and went straight to the bank. 

Kris, Xiumin, and Suho, while perfectly capable, never went out on any kind of “mission” anymore. So, to see the original three of the family out in public together typically was not a good sign, unless they were merely all getting drinks or eating out.

The bank was in for a shock.

The men filed into the bank, one by one, with purpose. The metal detector at the door was constantly going off, but it always went off when Kyungsoo and Xiumin entered since they carried pistols with them everywhere, much like everyone in the family. But since Kris practically owned the bank they were never searched. This time was no different. All the alarms did was announce their entrance. 

Everyone in the bank turned to look over at the men, a few random customers seemed shaken as they tried to mentally prepare for a robbery since they did not know who Kris was. But the tellers and security at the bank all stiffened as they watched Kris and the others.

“Where the hell is the manager?” Kris’s voice easily carried all throughout the main area of the bank. 

No one responded.

“I said… _Where the hell is the manager?!_ ” Kris raised his voice as a scowl took over his expression, causing upper lip to curl up so much teeth showed.

Almost everyone in the room flinched and this was when Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Kai stepped out from behind Kris to walk further into the bank, posturing themselves. Chanyeol went over to the teller’s desk, walking past all the people to lean against it as he gave a smug smirk to the trembling tellers. Kai walked over to the security guard standing in one of the far corners, blatantly eyeing him up and down so he knew that if he tried anything Kai would intercept him. Baekhyun moved over to stand in the midst of all the people with a cheery grin on his face, even going so far to put his arm on a stranger's shoulder and lean on him. Xiumin still hung back, but gave the security guard at the door a nasty look so that hopefully he wouldn’t dare to turn on them. Suho stood slightly behind and to the side of Kris, always his right hand man. 

“Do I need to remind you all who runs this city? Because you know, I’m _really_ starting to think I do.” Kris was starting to get irritated that no one was responding to him. He was close to pulling out his pistol and making a show of force himself. Unfortunately he wasn’t fond of hurting everyday people.

“ _No!_ ” A teller shouted out as her large eyes nervously looked between Chanyeol and Kris.  
“Whatcha got to say then, sweet thing?” Kris’s lips twitched into a smirk as he approached the desk. Chanyeol even briefly wore a smirk on his face as he looked over at the shaking young woman across the desk.  
“Remember that we take care of our friends.” Chanyeol used the softer tone he typically took on with Baekhyun to try and coax the scared girl into speaking up since she was hesitating. 

Suho was glancing around as he watched Kris approach the teller’s desk. No one else was speaking up. It concerned him. The workers all knew who Kris was and yet they were essentially ignoring his authority. 

“The manager left earlier today.” The girl quickly admitted, earning a few looks from everyone in the room.  
“Now... Why would they do that? There is supposed to be some form of superviser here there entire time. Hmm?” Kris’s smooth voice asked the girl and she visibly swallowed back her nerves.  
“She got a phone call and left. She said it was an emergency,” The girl was speaking quickly, clearly terrified of the men in front of her. At this information Kris turned to look back at Suho whose lips were pursed together in thought. So Kris turned back around to face the woman.  
“Well, since you’ve been so helpful already I’d like you to take us to the security room so we can see the footage on these cameras.” His eyes warily looked over at the other tellers who were anxiously shifting their weight.  
“Okay. Yeah, sure, yes, sir.” With this the girl ducked out from behind the desk to head towards a door by the security guard Kai was standing next to.  
“Baekhyun, Chanyeol. You two stay here. I don’t want anyone leaving. Everyone else.. You’re with me.” Kris announced as he followed after the girl, Xiumin and Suho quickly crossed the room to follow behind Kris while Kai waited for them before he fell in line. 

They all were led to a room that had the feed from the security cameras by the woman who was now nervously rambling, but no one was paying her any mind. Once they were in the room the security guard was insisting they were not allowed in the room but Kai quickly went to tower over the shorter man. “I’ll do as I please.” Kris stated simply before he walked over to the monitors. “I want you to play back footage from earlier today.” 

Soon they were all observing the video footage from when Xiumin and Kyungsoo arrived at the bank. There wasn’t anything suspicious yet. They were able to see the two men enter the bank and then.. “Wait.. Is that Jihyun??” Suho’s voice drew Kris’s attention as he pointed to a monitor. There was a man that was roaming the hallways of the bank alone. It was hard to make out much other than his dark hair, but he wasn’t in a nice outfit or uniform like everyone else that worked there. He was simply in a dark hoodie and jeans. 

They followed the man on the monitors until he seemingly disappeared on them. “Where’d he go?” Kai was the one that spoke up as his eyes wildly bounced between the monitors.  
“If he was going down this hallway he should be coming out either around the vault or the safety deposit boxes.” The security guard was at least helpful and spoke up, gesturing to the respective monitors. Sure enough, at the security camera that was focused on the vault door Jihyun appeared as he eyed the vault door. But then he turned to camera and grinned as he looked up at it, giving it a little wave before every camera went to static before starting again, but the timestamp was later in the day, after Xiumin left without Kyungsoo. 

“What just happened?” There was an edge to Suho’s voice as he looked over at the security guard.  
“I.. I don’t know. It’s like the cameras stopped recording for that time.”  
“What do you mean they stopped recording?” Kris asked before leaning over to look over at the security guard. “Did you stop the recording??”  
“No! I just started my shift. The one that was here before me has already left.” The security guard recoiled at the accusation, throwing his hands up in his defence.  
“Did you check the vault, Xiumin?” Suho suggested, ignoring the situation between Kris and the security guard as he looked over at the underboss.  
“No.”  
“You’re getting us in that vault.” Kris growled at the security guard who meekly nodded. 

The small group were once again led through the bank until they were in another smallish room in front of the vault door. “Hm. Back when we were kids this would have been one hell of an opportunity.” Kris muttered in thought as he observed the large door with a hint of wonder in his eyes. The security guard gave him a wary look, probably wondering if Kris was intending on robbing the place. “Open her up.” Kris looked at the security guard when he caught his gaze.

The man nodded before turning towards the door, going to turn the large handle until eventually there was a loud clicking sound. Kris’s phone began to ring so quickly he answered it, putting it on speaker phone since he assumed it was Chanyeol, Baekhyun, or Luhan. “What is it?” There was applause on the other line.  
“That took you long enough!” A man’s voice on the other line quickly spoke up, surprising everyone, but no one responded to him since they were all busy trying to get to the vault door to open it up to get to Kyungsoo. As soon as it was possible Kai squeezed through the door opening they made, but quickly the door was open enough for Xiumin to go in as well with his pistol drawn, ready to get revenge for Jongdae’s beating.  
“He wasn’t particularly fun. Not like Jongdae was,” The voice on the phone began to speak again as the door finally opened enough for everyone to see what was inside. “He’s a quiet one. All I got out of him was whimpers and groans. Damn shame.”

In the middle of the room was Kai on his knees holding Kyungsoo in his arms, his face buried in the crook of his neck. The position they were in made it easy to see some of the damage that was done to Kyungsoo. While he was wearing a black turtleneck sweater, the back of it was shredded in some places revealing blood that was coming from deep gashes on his back. 

Kris stood there in shock for a moment as he processed everything. “Your bank has been compromised. Everyone has their price. You know this Kris. Don’t hold it against them.” Jihyun’s voice finally snapped Kris out of it and he lifted the phone up to his ear as he turned off the speakerphone.  
“Your life expectancy is plummeting.” As if it were nothing Kris hung up the phone before turning to a wide eyed Suho, “Call Lay. Tell him to be prepared.” With that Kris stepped into the vault, walking past the huge piles of cash and ignoring the tempting lockers that lined the walls. He could barely hear Kai whispering something, not able to make out the words, but Kyungsoo’s condition was still unknown to Kris and he was nervous about that. Xiumin was standing behind Kai, eyeballing the terrified security guard outside of the vault.

Kris peeled off his large black coat as he walked towards the partners on the ground. “Kai.” Kris’s voice finally got Kai to lookup from Kyungsoo and for the first time Kris saw Kyungsoo move as the man slowly reached up to grip onto Kai’s shirt. Kris finally let out a breath of relief to know Kyungsoo was still alive. “Here, let’s get him in this and then we will get him out of here,” Kris’s voice wasn’t soft by any means, but it was gentler than normal and that was enough to get Kai to nod before he looked down at Kyungsoo for a moment. 

“Love, I have to move you. But, we are going to get you home as soon as we get this coat on you. Okay?” Kai was so quiet Kris could hardly hear him, but he was speaking in a soft voice they have never heard Kai speak in before. Kyungsoo groaned, but nodded and slowly let go of Kai’s shirt. Rather than hold him against his chest he sat him on the ground, trying to ignore how much Kyungsoo was groaning in response. His chest did not look much better than his back, but there was nothing they could do about those lacerations now. So without saying anything Kris tried to gently put his coat on Kyungsoo with both Kai and Xiumin’s help, despite their earlier fight. The coat was massive on Kyungsoo since he was a much smaller build than Kris, but it was enough to cover him and hide his wounds from the public they’d be facing soon. 

“Let’s get him home.” Kris said and Kai nodded in agreement, pulling Kyungsoo back against his chest before standing up, carrying Kyungsoo bridal style. He quickly walked out with Kyungsoo, Xiumin following behind him. But, Kris slowly walked out as he fished out his wallet from his back pocket. Once he got to the shaking security guard Kris pulled out several bills and handed it over to the guard, it was easily a thousand dollars. “That’s for your cooperation. There will be more in store for you if you can give us the information of the security guard who worked the shift before you.” Kris said before also handing him a card with Luhan’s information. It was then that he finally started to leave the bank with everyone.

\----

This was the first time Lay was having to treat Kyungsoo for anything. Well, not counting the few times he’s wrote him prescriptions for simple things like a sore throat or flu. When Kai brought Kyungsoo into the OR Lay was surprised by how quiet he was. Even Chanyeol typically was swearing when he was put on the table. Kyungsoo only whimpered when Kai finally pulled his arms away from him completely when Kyungsoo was laid out on the operating table. One of his hands reached out for Kai before he pulled away and Lay could see the heart break on his face, not wanting to deny his husband the simple comfort. 

“You can stay until he’s out.”

Kai’s eyes shot up to Lay wide with surprise, but he gave him a deep nod before he took Kyungsoo’s hand in his own and stepped back over to the table, running his free hand through Kyungsoo’s sweat soaked hair. Meanwhile Lay went to try and get an IV on Kyungsoo’s other arm. Once it was in he nodded over to the anesthesiologist. “Kyungsoo, I need you to count backwards from ten for me.”

Without looking away from Kai Kyungsoo counted down as he was asked. He only got to seven before he fell unconscious and Kai slowly let go of Kyungsoo’s hand and went to leave the room, knowing not to overstay his welcome here. “Kai,” The man halted in his steps as Lay called his name, but the surgeon was instructing that Kyungsoo’s shirt get cut off. “I want to thank you for respecting my working space. I also know how you are with Kyungsoo… He’s going to need blood transfusions and you two share the same blood type. If you want to help him, go speak to one of the available nurses and she can start the process of taking your blood and we can make sure it goes to him.” After speaking Lay immediately turned his attention to the messy lacerations on Kyungsoo’s chest. He didn’t see the way Kai was feverently nodding before rushing out of the OR. 

A little over two hours later the blood bag Kyungsoo was on was already dry and so Lay was asking one of the nurses to run and go check and see if Kai gave any. Sure enough, she came rushing back with a blood bag and Lay couldn’t help the smile that appeared under his surgical mask. It shouldn’t surprise him that Kai did this for Kyungsoo, but it was still very endearing to Lay as he continued to stitch up Kyungsoo, now working on his back. Jihyun didn’t have a lot of time so he couldn’t do anything methodical to Kyungsoo. But, he could still do a lot of damage with the knife he took to Kyungsoo. 

\----

When Kyungsoo woke up the following day a groan alerted Kai to his husband’s consciousness. He was on a lot of pain medication, so Kai was hopeful that helped ease him. “I’m sorry. I never wanted you to get hurt,” Kai’s voice was so very soft with Kyungsoo as he laid next to him, his hand gently grabbing Kyungsoo’s so he could intertwine their fingers. Kyungsoo didn’t say anything in response, but he did squeeze Kai’s hand and shake his head, as if to reassure Kai that it wasn’t his fault.

A few days later when Kyungsoo was feeling better Xiumin came by his room, Jongdae was trailing in after him. But Jongdae remained at the door while Xiumin crossed the room over to the bed. Kai did give the pair a wary glance as he moved to sit a little closer to Kyungsoo in the bed, but Kyungsoo still was unaware of what happened between them when he went missing. 

“I’m sorry, Kyungsoo. You got hurt on my watch when I was responsible for you.” Xiumin apologized once he was at the edge of the bed, giving Kyungsoo a respectful dip of his head in apology. Kyungsoo groaned as he shifted in the bed, struggling to sit up. But, Kai quickly put a hand on Kyungsoo’s back and helped pushed him up to a sitting position, despite the groan of pain from Kyungsoo due to the tender wounds on his back.  
“It wasn’t your fault.” The man managed to get out with a tired voice. Kai went to move his hand away from Kyungsoo’s back, but Kyungsoo quickly grabbed his knee to quietly tell him that he needed the support to stay up. 

“But, if I stuck around-”  
“Xiumin.. Respectfully, that’s enough. If it was anyone’s fault it’s Jihyun. He was smart and got me when we were forced to split up. It’s not your fault. So, please.. Stop blaming yourself and apologizing.” Kyungsoo’s eyes burrowed into Xiumin’s, even if they were hazy from the pain medication coursing through his veins.  
“... Okay.” Xiumin relented with a sigh. But now his eyes turned to Kai. Kai gave him quite the sidelong look, but reluctantly gave Xiumin a nod, they were good. Then Kai’s eyes went to Jongdae at the door and gave him a curt nod. “Well, thank you, Kyungsoo. I hope you heal up quickly.”  
“Thank you. Lay says it’ll probably be about a month before the stitches officially come out, give or take. But, I’ll be back to work as soon as I can stay on my feet. I’ll tell Lay to take me off the medicine so my mind won’t be affected.” Kyungsoo explained, but soon earned a roll of his eyes from Kai.  
“Kyungsoo, you should rest. Don’t push yourself.” Xiumin frowned as he looked down at Kyungsoo.  
“Exactly what I told him.” Kai chimed in as he looked at Kyungsoo, a hint of frustration in his eyes.  
“Listen to your husband. I’m going to let you rest now.” Xiumin said before he gave another short nod before backing off to exit the with Jongdae in tow.

Once the two were out of the room Kyungsoo looked over at Kai. “That was the quietest I’ve ever seen Jongdae,” He commented, looking at Kai almost to make sure he didn’t hallucinate Jongdae.  
“I may have... Snapped at him when they told me your were missing. I’m pretty sure he’s still mad at me.” Kyungsoo winced at Kai’s answer before groaning.  
“You threatened to kill him, didn’t you?”  
“I don’t exactly remember what I said. But, yeah. Probably.”  
“Kai, I swear-” Kyungsoo groaned in pain now that he was getting worked up.  
“Kyungsoo… Take it easy.” Kai pleaded before he helped Kyungsoo lay back down.

\---------

“Hey, baby,” Kris’s voice was soft, if not a bit strained with worry whenever he answered Tao’s phone call.  
“Kris.” Tao sounded out of breath, but that wasn’t unusual after one of his jobs.  
“How’d it go?”  
“Good. Good. Got the diamonds.”  
“Of course you did. Can you hurry home? You know how it is right now and I’m worried about you.” Kris was sitting at his desk in his office, nervously drumming his fingers on the wooden surface.  
“Umm.. I might be awhile.. I- uh.. I have the munchies, you know? Might go downtown and grab something to eat.”  
“I can meet you somewhere?”  
“ _No, you can’t._ Sorry. You know how I can be. I like my personal time. You know. Right?”

Kris’s heart sunk into his stomach. Tao hated being alone. He was the neediest man Kris has ever known. He has never taken any personal time away from Kris except for when he was working. 

Tao was in trouble.

“What are you thinking?”  
“ _What?_ ”  
“What are you thinking about eating?” Kris repeated, trying to subtly get some information from Tao.  
“Oh, um. I don’t know. Maybe Italian, or there’s um.. There’s Mexican.. Or… Maybe just some coffee.”

Kris was wracking his brain for anywhere Tao liked to eat that had an Italian place, a Mexican place, and a cafe close by. There was one that came to mind. “What about Thai?”  
“Yeah, maybe… Hey, I.. I have to go, Kris. But, I love you.”  
“I love you too, Tao.”

With that, the line went dead.

\---

“Good boy.” Jihyun grinned as he watched Tao willingly hang up the phone. 

“We’re gonna have fun together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray for cliffhangers!
> 
> ;D


	6. Chapter 6

Despite Kris thinking he knew the area that Tao was probably being held in, he could not find him. He sent everyone out looking for him, but it was to no avail. A month passed and Kris was worse off than how Luhan was when Sehun was missing. The man was a mess, trying to find the solution to his problems at the bottom of bottles. Suho and Xiumin were constantly trying to console him and assure him they’d get Tao back, but Kris never really responded to them. Both men knew that Kris has never really ever had a relationship before. If he lost Tao it’d be the first loss he’s really experienced. Both of them knew that Kris would go over the deep end then.

But, one day Kris was thrown for a loop while he was resting his head on his arms on his desk. His phone went off and he reached for it to unlock it.

_(1) New video message from Tao_

Immediately Kris jumped up in his chair to quickly hit play. He was confused and furious when he saw a grinning Jihyun rather than his Tao. “Hey there. I wonder how you’ve been doing lately. Tao and I have been doing fine. Actually we’ve been better than fine. I’m sure you want proof of that though. So, here. I’ll let you see for yourself.” Kris wanted to do nothing more than wrap his hands around Jihyun’s throat. His cocky attitude was going to get him killed eventually. But Kris settled himself, hopeful he would get to see Tao. 

He was right.

Jihyun lowered the hand he was holding the cellphone in so that Kris could see Tao. Tao was laying down with his head and some of his upper body actually in Jihyun’s lap. He didn’t seem to have any restraints on him. But, his eyes were in a dead stare ahead with his pupils constricted as far as they could be. He actually looked… Kris didn’t want to think about the possibility.

Jihyun’s free hand took to running itself through Tao’s blonde hair and Kris’s nails dug into the wooden desk. “At first he was way too whiny for my taste. But now… Now he’s perfect. So, pliant.” Kris thought he was going to break a piece off of his desk as he continued to watch the video. Tao didn’t even seem to react at all. “Say hello, Tao.”  
“Hello…” Tao’s voice was scratchy, but otherwise it was flat and didn’t have a hint of distress in it. 

_Shit._

Kris has seen this before. 

“You know how much money I’ve spent on Tao? Smack is hard to come by considering how much you loathe the stuff. I’ve been forced to buy some out of town.” Jihyun actually laughed as he spoke, meanwhile Tao was lazily leaning his head up into Jihyun’s touch. “At first he resisted, of course. But now Tao here loves it,” Jihyun hummed as his hand pulled out of Tao’s hair and reached out of view of the camera. Then the camera view was moving to the side some to see Tao’s arm, which Jihyun was holding up. Black track marks covered Tao’s right arm. 

Kris wanted to break down. This was why he fought so hard to get rid of the hard drugs in the city. He’s seen what it does to people. It ruins their lives. Tao will never be the same when Kris is able to save him. 

“He takes it so well now. But now he’s needier. Can’t let him get dope sick, now can I? What kind of caretaker would I be then?” Jihyun let Tao’s arm drop limply back down to his side before the camera returned to Tao’s face and Jihyun once again ran his hand through Tao’s hair. “Tao, baby. Can you answer a question for me?”  
Tao was slow to respond, but he did nod his head. “Mhm.”  
“Do you remember Kris?”

Tao’s eyes dragged up to Jihyun’s face and he nodded once again. “Yes… I miss him.” Kris could feel his heart breaking into little pieces.  
“Do you now?” Tao slowly nodded once again. “Tell him he should come pay you a visit. It’s awfully rude he hasn’t yet.” Tao looked up at Jihyun in confusion until Jihyun pointed at the camera. Tao’s eyes slowly found the camera and he studied it for a moment.  
“ _Kris..?_ ”  
“Yes, he will watch this later.” One of Tao’s hands slowly reached up for the phone and Jihyun actually let him take it from him. Tao pulled the phone close to his face as he studied the camera of it.  
“I miss you… Come see me. I still love you… Do you still love me..?” Tao’s voice was still so even and flat. Kris could actually feel his eyes heat up as tears threatened him. “Could I..?” Tao was looking back up at Jihyun  
“Come on, use your words, baby.” Kris was going to make Jihyun suffer a slow death.  
“Can I talk to him on the phone?”  
“Well, I think that’d depend on how he responds to this little message we send him.” Tao’s eyes went back to the phone. “Tell him to be nice.”  
“Kris… Please be nice. Please. I miss you.”  
“Now Tell him goodbye.”  
“But, I-“  
“ _Tao,_ ” Immediately Jihyun’s voice turn a harsh tone.  
“Goodbye, Kris.” 

The video cut off there. 

Kris dropped his phone on his desk as his hand went to cover his eyes while tears escaped him. It was then that there was a knock on the door. What terrible timing. 

“ _WHAT!?_ ” Kris snapped, but his voice cracked. So, the door slowly opened.

Xiumin walked in to find Kris with his hand still covering his eyes, but Xiumin could see his shoulders shaking. “Kris?” He hesitantly approached Kris’s desk. “I know you miss him. But-”  
“He has Tao hooked on heroin.”  
“What?!” Xiumin exclaimed as he looked down at Kris with clear concern in his face. “How do you-” Kris slid his phone across the desk and Xiumin looked down out it questioningly.  
“Watch the video he sent me. Just… Not in front of me. Please.”  
“If I may… I’m gonna grab Suho and Lay to watch it.”  
“Whatever.”

\------

“ _Oh, shit._ ” 

The two other men looked over at Lay who spoke first after watching the video. “Guys, I don’t need to tell you this is bad. But, it’s really bad. We need to get Tao back.” Lay looked at Suho first when he spoke, hopeful he had some ideas.  
“I say our best hope is Kris getting in contact with Tao.” Suho did speak up with a reasonable idea.  
“But what if Tao doesn’t even know where he’s at?” Xiumin asked and Lay rubbed the back of his neck in thought. It was probable.  
“Listen, I don’t have any ideas that would help you two. So I’m going to do what I know will be helpful; order methadone. Tao’s going to need it once we get him back.” Lay explained before excusing himself from Suho’s office.

“How is he?”  
“He’s bad, Suho. I don’t know how much longer this can last.”  
“Alright… Just… Go back and tell him to play Jihyun’s game.”

\-----

Kris surprisingly didn’t put up much of a fight. He texted Tao’s phone asking if he could speak with Tao. Then the texts came flying in.

_I don’t know._

_You have pissed me off, after all._

_You did order the death of Dean._

_Maybe I should kill Tao, call us even. Hmm?_

_Although, I’ve grown to enjoy his company._

_How about this…_

_You focus on your time with Tao and don’t threaten me at all.._

_And say please._

_Then I’ll let you speak to him._

_Kris._  
_Please._

_Smart, man. I have to give Tao another dose, but after that I’ll give you a call. I suggest you don’t miss it._

_Kris:_  
_Can it be video?_

_Beggers don’t get to be choosers, my friend._

Kris sat there and waited for a long time before his phone began to vibrate. Much to Kris’s surprise it was a video call. Quickly he wiped the tears away with the back of his hand before answering the call. The first thing he saw on the screen was the ceiling, but after some ruffling sounds The phone was moved and soon Tao’s pale face was on the screen and a sleepy smile appeared on his face as he seemed to register Kris’s face. “Kris~” Tao hummed happily and a weak smile forced itself on Kris’s face.  
“Hey, baby.” At the sound of the smooth voice Tao’s smile grew and he seemed to completely stretch out his body as he on a mattress on the floor as he held the phone in both of his hands. “How are you feeling?”  
“Oh, so good~” Tao practically purred as he stretched out some more before rolling onto his side as he continued to look at Kris on the screen of his phone, who was still sitting at his desk.  
“Yeah?”  
“Mhm~”  
“Why is that?”  
“Why?”  
“Yeah.”  
“I got my medicine. It helps me feel better.”  
“Does it now?”  
"Yeah. Without it I get real sick. It’s not fun.”

Kris’s lips pursed as he looked at Tao, who was acting more like a cat than a human at the moment. “You’re not tied up at all?”  
“Nope. I was at first since I couldn’t be good. But, now I don’t have to be tied up. Jihyun is very nice to me.”  
“Is he now?”  
“Yes. He is. He takes care of me.”  
“Does he let you leave?”  
“Leave?”  
“Yeah, can you come and go as you please?” Tao blinked at the question, as if he didn’t understand it.  
“Why… Why would I want to go?”  
“So you can see me again.” Kris was forced to speak around the lump building up in his throat.  
“But, if I leave I’ll get sick. I need my medicine, Kris. Only Jihyun has it. Kris, I can’t leave. No, no, no, no. Kris you don’t know what it’s like. It’s _real_ bad. It hurts. I can’t, I can’t, I-” Tao was clearly getting worked up as his face paled even more and he sounded almost short of breath. 

“ _Shhhhhh…_ It’s okay, dear. I won’t let you get sick.” Jihyun’s voice was heard off screen and although Kris couldn’t see where he was at he assumed he was sitting next to Tao because suddenly Jihyun’s hand was rubbing through Tao’s sweaty hair again. What made this worse for Kris was that Tao actually relaxed. Kris gritted his teeth, trying to continue to “play nice” so he could at least see Tao. But it looks like they weren’t going to get a location from him if Jihyun was still close by.

“I love you, Tao.” Kris tried to get Tao’s focus back onto him since the younger man closed his eyes and seemed to forget about Kris since he was receiving physical affection. Slowly his eyes opened, once again with those tiny pupils as he looked back at the phone.  
“I love you too. You should visit me,” Tao suggested before looking up and to the side. “Can he visit me?”  
“We’ll see about that.” Jihyun said as he continued to run his fingers through Tao’s hair. So Tao’s attention returned to the phone once again.  
“You should. That way I can see you again but I won’t have to leave that way I won’t get sick. Please Kris?”  
“I want to see you again, but what if you came home and I brought your medicine with us?”  
“That’s an option??” Tao sounded excited as a grin broke out on his face.  
“No, _it’s not._ ” Jihyun quickly shut the idea down and Tao’s grin disappeared.  
“ _Oh,_ Kris will just have to visit me then.”  
“I guess it depends on what Jihyun says…” Kris muttered reluctantly and Tao looked up at Jihyun expectantly.

“Why don’t you show Kris your pretty marks. He didn’t get to see them well earlier in that nice little video we sent him.” Tao seemed to forget what they were previously talking about because he only grinned as he moved so he was holding the phone with one hand so he could show Kris his left forearm. There were plenty of track marks on it, but then he changed hands and went to show his right forearm to the phone camera and the track marks were much worse. There was a fresh red mark on it and the veins were dark and prominent as bruises also littered his arm.  
“Jihyun says they’re pretty. Do you think so??” Tao almost sounded like a child and it broke Kris’s heart.  
“ _Tao.._ ” Kris didn’t even know where to begin with this.  
“Do you not think so..?” Tao’s face was suddenly overwhelmed with concern and even pain as he looked at Kris’s tired expression.  
“I do…” Kris lied with a sigh, not wanting to further upset Tao. It seemed to do the job because Tao’s bright smile returned. 

“Alright, baby. Times up. Say goodbye to Kris then give me the phone. I need to speak with him.” Jihyun’s voice cut in and Kris’s expression fell, but so did Tao’s.  
“Bye, Kris… I love you. Call me again sometime!”  
“I love you too. I’ll try.” Kris promised before the phone was taken from Tao. The phone camera was pointed at the ceiling once again before there was the sound of a door opening then closing. Suddenly Jihyun was back on screen.

“You want Tao to be set free?”  
“Of course I do, jackass.”  
“Whoa. That’s not very nice. I think I deserve an apology. Otherwise you can be prepared to never speak to Tao again.”  
“... Sorry.”  
“Attaboy.” Jihyun grinned on the camera before his expression became serious once again. “Well, the solution is quite easy, really. In fact he could be free today if you really wanted him to be.”  
“What do I have to do?”  
“Something _real_ simple, Kris. All you have to do is die.” 

Kris’s jaw dropped at the request, drawing a laugh from Jihyun. “Oh, I’m very serious. Once I have proof you’re very much dead I’ll drop Tao off at the mansion’s front doors and let your little doctor take care of him. Think on it.”

The video feed cut off as Jihyun hung up immediately after he finished speaking. Kris slowly sat his phone down as he stared at it in disbelief.

“ _Kris.._ ” Suho’s voice cut through the silence since he was sitting across the desk for the entire call. But, Xiumin was sitting next to him and Lay was standing across the room by the door.  
“You can’t be seriously considering-”  
“And what if I am Xiumin?”  
“Then you’re an idiot,” Suho stated rather point blankly and Kris looked up at him with a dangerous expression.  
“Get the hell out, Suho.”  
“Fine. But I’m not wrong.” Suho muttered before standing up and walking out of the office. Lay was about to follow after him, but Kris spoke again.  
“Lay.” Lay froze as he looked back at Kris.  
“What would your prognosis of Tao be from what you heard?”  
“Ah… Kris… I’m a surgeon. I can’t be certain of anything.”  
“But, if you have to guess…”  
“It doesn’t sound good, Kris. Heroin is not an easy habit to break. Tao’s recovery is going to be long and hard, if we can get to him. But… From what I hear you know all this and you know that every time he gets another hit of it could be his last. Jihyun wouldn’t even know if he bought a bad batch of it. Not until it’s in Tao’s bloodstream and he is having a bad reaction to it. Then… If we’re lucky Jihyun knows what to do to take care of him, if that’d even help.” Lay was honest with Kris when it came to his “medical” opinion, like Suho always was. That’s what Kris liked about him. 

“He’s in a bad situation, Kris. I’m not going to lie about that. Especially considering it’s been a month. But… Killing yourself isn’t going to help him. Say you do and he does come back to the mansion as promised. Do you think he’s actually going to want to live when he realizes what happened to you? When he realizes you died because of him??”  
“ _Enough,_ Lay. Please leave.”  
“As you say,” Lay deeply bowed before leaving the office, leaving only Kris and Xiumin in the room alone.

“And you?”  
“I’d tell you I think you’d be dumb to do it. But, I don’t think you’d listen to it.” Xiumin stated with those sharp eyes of his eyeing Kris carefully.  
“You’d be right.” Kris sighed as he looked at Xiumin for a few moments before speaking. “Look, you know this. But if anything happens to me, you take over. They’ll all listen to you and follow your lead. Take Suho on as your consigliere, he’s a good one. Kyungsoo would make a good underboss since he’s so damn smart and surprisingly cold blooded.” The fact that Kris was already making plans for when he’s gone wasn’t exactly a good sign.  
“Kris… As a friend, I’m at least going to ask you to think on this. Think about all you’ll be leaving behind. Okay?”  
“Okay.”

The two sat there in an uneasy silence for a long while before Xiumin broke their silence. “Kris, in the video he sent you, Jihyun said he has to go out of town to buy the heroin.”  
“And your point?”  
“What if we could find his dealer..? Then we could find him.”  
“Yeah, but which city-”

Abruptly Kris was standing up from his desk chair before rushing out of his office. He ran the entire way to Luhan’s office, leaving a confused Xiumin to try and trail after him. When he opened the door to Luhan’s office Suho was already there in the middle of a conversation with Luhan as they stood around the table, meanwhile Sehun, who was doing much better now, was bringing two drinks over to the table for the two men. Suho and Luhan immediately stopped talking to look up at Kris with questioning gazes. “Oh, Kris. Do you want a drink?” Sehun offered, breaking the slightly awkward moment of silence.  
“Please.” With that, Sehun went back around the bar as Kris approached Suho and Luhan, as Xiumin barely entered the room.  
“Luhan. Can you get your people in the city to the south of us?”  
“What..? Why?”  
“Look, Jihyun is buying heroin. Back when I sold it, we got it from the south and then we’d sell it here. I’m certain he’s buying it there. Find his dealer and then sit on the dealer, then we follow him once he shows and we find Tao.” Kris was all too serious as he spoke, but he was very thankful when Sehun brought him over a drink.  
“It’s not a bad plan. But it’s risky and it could take some time, Kris. Don’t expect overnight results,” Luhan warned Kris not to get his hopes up and the man reluctantly nodded in understanding.

“It’ll be okay, Kris.” Sehun boldly spoke up after handing Xiumin a drink. Kris did look over at the other tall man with a somewhat surprised look. Everyone else seemed to be holding their breath. “I was gone for two months.. And I’m okay.”  
“Sehun-” Luhan tried to get him to be quiet but Kris held his hand up to silence him.  
“I appreciate it, but he has Tao on heroin.”  
“But at least Tao is well fed, isn’t he?” Sehun didn’t seem to care at all when it came to how he spoke to Kris.  
“But if he gets a bad batch-”  
“And if Jihyun was late feeding me once I would’ve died.”

There was a long moment of silence as the two tall men stared at each other, Kris’s expression was hardening while Sehun still wore a bit of a smile on his face. Luhan was slowly making his way around the table so he could stand near Sehun while Xiumin remained behind Kris. 

“Look. I get it. I really do. This shit sucks. But we are going to get Tao back. I’m proof that he can be found.”  
“I can’t wait another month for him, Sehun.”  
“That’s exactly what I said.” Luhan spoke up with a bit of a cloudier expression, as if he was reliving that pain of missing Sehun.  
“We get it, Kris. It’ll be alright. And if you need one of us-”  
“Thank you, but just focus on finding Tao.” Kris downed the rest of the liquor in his glass before walking out of the room. 

Suho looked over at Luhan with a tired expression. “Do you see why I want someone to stay on Kris if he leaves here?”  
“I do.”  
“What?” Xiumin chimed in with wide eyes.  
“He’s at risk. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets himself killed. This is all too personal for him.”  
“But what if he took Lay?”  
“Oh, no. I understand. I’d be the same way. But I hope you all wouldn’t let my emotions blind me.” Suho responded to Xiumin’s questioning with a slightly pointed look. Xiumin nodded in understanding. It was always easy to be objective when the heart wasn’t at risk for heartbreak. 

\-----

A few days passed and everyone decided to meet in their meeting room. Everyone was in their respective chairs, except for Suho who was pacing in front of the table as he processed everything. 

“People are starting to buck under our rule,” Baekhyun announced earning a wince from Kris.  
“It’s true. People are testing our ability to protect our own businesses on the edges of the city. It’s getting ugly,” Chanyeol added in a frustrated voice.  
“They smell blood in the water,” Jongdae mused with a slight hum. Kris only groaned at the confirmation.  
“Chanyeol. I want you to have these problems taken care of… With extreme prejudice.”  
“Kris, you’re not the boogeyman you used to be to people here. No offense.” Xiumin boldly spoke up and Suho stopped pacing.  
“I know, but with Tao missing…”  
“You were a boogey man before Tao ever showed up.” Suho reminded him with a surprisingly stern look.  
“Suho-”  
“No, you don’t get it Kris. We need you to be our leader. Not someone who holes up in their room and drinks all day.” 

Immediately a stunned silence fell over the room. It’s been a long time since they’ve seen an argument between Suho and Kris and they knew one was coming up. 

“Look, I’m sorry but Tao is my top priority right now.” Kris grumbled and Suho finally snapped. He walked right over to the table and grabbed a glass off of it and threw it on the ground, shattering it and forcing Kris to give him his undivided attention.  
“Damnit, Kris! You’re being a fool! Have you told everyone the condition Jihyun gave you? I bet they’d all agree that it’s a bad idea. So stop trying to slowly kill yourself.” 

Kris only looked up at Suho who was leaning over the table, only a few feet away from Kris’s face now. 

“You know what? If you’re going to be like this the entire time Tao is missing I genuinely think you should take a step back and let Xiumin fill in your role. Because I can guarantee you that if Tao wasn’t missing you would have crushed all of these potential challengers.”

The tension remained for a long while before Luhan tried to diffuse the situation, but Suho was convinced Kris stopped listening to his advice a month ago and if it wasn’t for his dedication to the family he would’ve given up on it tonight. He could’ve retired with Lay somewhere nice.

\-----

A week passed from that particularly volatile day and one of Luhan’s spies found Jihyun and was following his movements. Turns out he was probably keeping Tao out of the city, which would explain why it has taken so long to find him. So, Kris gathered up Chanyeol and Kai and left the city. Baekhyun was a little irritated that Kris didn’t let him go, but he didn’t dare argue with him. 

It was a decent four hour drive until they were in the next city over. The sun already set and they met up with Luhan’s contact, who led them to where they were watching Jihyun. It was an old motel that was known for housing the more “unsavory” types. The spy told them which door to watch and then left them to it. 

The three were parked across the street waiting for Jihyun to leave the motel, since apparently he was still in there. Kris didn’t want to risk Tao getting hurt at all so they agreed to wait it out. Kris was sitting in the backseat, staring at the door while Chanyeol and Kai were in the front seat eating some snacks they brought along for the drive. 

It was hours before anything happened. It was around three in the morning when the door finally opened and Jihyun emerged. Kris suddenly was tapping on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “ _Get down._ ” Chanyeol was previously dozing off, but suddenly he was slouching in his seat and curling over the console to try and hide his large body while Kai simply crawled into the backseat with Kris to get in the floorboard while Kris leaned back in the backseat, but tried to peek out enough to see Jihyun. 

There was a rage building inside Kris. He wanted to bolt out of the car and go strangle Jihyun, but he wasn’t here for revenge. He was here for Tao. 

After about five more minutes Kris slowly sat up before opening the car door. “Let’s hurry.” Kris didn’t need to speak twice before the other two were crawling out of the car and running with him. They quickly cleared the street and ran up the stairs of the motel to the second floor. They stopped at room “204” and then Kris looked over at Chanyeol and nodded. It was about to get real loud and they’d need to move quickly. “Kai stay out here and make sure no one comes up behind us.”  
“Yes, sir.” 

Chanyeol came prepared with his favorite shotgun, quickly blowing away the locks of the door before kicking it in. Kris walked inside the room with his pistol drawn. Tao wasn’t in the bare room. But, that mattress on the he was on in the videos was in the floor. This was the place. Kris swore under his breath as he moved deeper in the room, the wooden door crunching under his boots as he walked. He approached the second door in the room, which he assumed to be the bathroom, going for the knob only to find it locked.

“Tao?” Kris called as he leaned against the door, trying to listen through it. “Tao, baby. It’s me, Kris!” 

No response.

“I know we probably scared you just now. But, Tao, listen to me. You need to open the door. Because otherwise we will be kicking it down and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

After fifteen seconds Kris heard the door unlock and so he opened the door, finding a wide eyed Tao backing up against the wall. “ _Kris???_ ” Tao’s tiny pupils were dragging over Kris’s figure as if he didn’t believe it was him. Kris didn’t respond immediately, he only put his pistol up and crossed the bathroom to embrace Tao.  
“It’s me. It’s me,” Kris breathed, as he took the moment to feel Tao inside of his grip. To be honest he smelt terrible, but Kris could care less at this point in time.  
“Where’s Jihyun?”  
“He’s gone for now.”  
“Oh… No.” Tao was now trying to pull out of Kris’s arms. “He’s going to be really angry at me. I can’t. Kris, please. You need to go. I-”  
“Tao. No. Listen. I’m not leaving you here. You’re coming with me.”  
“What?”  
“I’m saving you from this man.”  
“But, Kris… My medicine. I can’t leave without it. I’ll get real sick. Please, please, please. I can’t-” Tao was getting worked up to the point where tears were forming in his eyes. So, Kris’s hands went to cup his face and forced Tao to look at him.  
“Hey, listen to me. I talked to Lay. You remember Lay? He has medicine waiting for you back at home. We won’t let you get sick. Okay?” Kris essentially lied by omission, not telling Tao that it was not heroin waiting for him back at their home.  
“Do you promise?” Tao’s eyes looked up at Kris and Kris almost broke down right then and there because of how desperate Tao looked.  
“Yes, I promise you. But you have to come with me right now. Okay?”  
“O-Okay…” 

Kris soon emerged from the bathroom with his arm around Tao’s shoulder. Chanyeol was in the room staring at them both with wide eyes, he heard the entire conversation between them and couldn’t believe it was Tao. But Chanyeol likely hasn’t seen many junkies up close unless he was beating the shit out of them. No, Kris used to know some personally. It was going to get real ugly for Tao and Kris knew it. The car ride back was going to shine some light on the situation for Chanyeol and Kai both. 

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Kris muttered as he walked past Chanyeol. Once he was outside Tao did dig his heels in a little, but ended up continuing to walk with them. “Kai if you see Jihyun… Don’t hesitate.”  
“Got it.” 

Unfortunately Jihyun didn’t poke his head out and they made it to the car. Once Kris got Tao settled in the backseat he took the bag of chips from the front seat and dumped them all out in the street before shutting the car door. “Really..?” Kai asked as he looked back at Kris.  
“I’ll buy you a new bag later.” Kris was thinking ahead just in case they couldn’t make it back to the mansion in time.

_Kris:_  
_We have Tao. We’re headed back. You’re going to want to have the methadone ready._

_Lay:_  
_Will do. I’m glad you have him back._

The drive was much longer now and Tao was curled up against Kris the entire way, his face buried in Kris’s neck. But about two hours in he started whimpering. Thanks to the black sleeveless shirt Tao was wearing it was real easy to see the ugly track marks on his arms. Tao soon began to itch at his right forearm. The withdrawals were already setting in. Kris wondered when his last hit of the stuff was. “Chanyeol.”  
“Hmm?”  
“How much longer until we get there?”  
“Ah, two hours?”  
“Can you please try and trim it down?”  
“Definitely.”

“Is he okay?” Kai asked as he turned around in the passenger front seat. This was the first time Kai was really looking at Tao and he grimaced at the sight. He lost his a lot of his muscle mass, his hair was sweaty and disheveled, but his arms were the worst sight. Kris slowly shook his head and Tao instinctively nuzzled further into the crook of his neck.  
“I don’t know when his last dose was… But, I’m pretty certain withdrawals are already about to set in.” Kris explained with pursed lips as his arm that was around Tao tightened.  
“Is there anything we can do to help?”  
“No.. There really isn’t. But I’m going to warn you that if I’m right the last hour of this trip is going to be miserable.”  
“ _Oh,_ will you be okay..?” Kai asked with a frown and Kris didn’t answer.

Kris was right because slowly Tao’s whining was getting louder as he began shaking more and more. But the last forty five minutes was when he started to crack. 

“Kris,” Tao practically moaned his name as he started to cling onto his shirt for dear life.  
“What is it, babe?” Kris asked, full well knowing what was wrong.  
“I don’t feel good. Kris- I- My stomach is starting to hurt.”  
“We’re almost home, then we can get you better.”  
“No- Kris- Please, you don’t- I… _Babe._ ” Tao was starting to get delirious as the sickness began to settle in.  
“It’s okay. Just focus on me, alright?”  
“ _You don’t understand._ It’s been too long since I had my medicine. I must’ve been bad if Jihyun waited this long to give me some. What did I do wrong, Kris? Why did he wait so long? Now.. _Kris._ ” Kris finally saw that Tao was starting to leave angry red marks on his forearm, if he kept it up he’d break skin. So, Kris grabbed his hand and interlocked their fingers to try and distract Tao from scratching.

“We have to go back.”  
“We aren’t going back, Tao. We’re almost home.”  
“No, we _have_ to go back.”  
“Tao… I’m sorry but we aren’t going back.” It was then that tears started to escape Tao. He was more or less silent except for his nose sniffling as he started to cry into Kris’s shirt. “ _Chanyeol.._ ”  
“Twenty minutes.”  
“I can’t wait that long.” Tao was the one to respond with a broken voice. Kris could see Chanyeol begin to grip the steering wheel until his knuckles were white.

Five minutes passed and now Tao was getting worse. Kris could feel Tao’s stomach jerking and so he grabbed the chip bag and moved so Tao wasn’t buried in his neck anymore. His eyes were red and now his pupils were blown out like saucers instead of tiny pinpricks. “Here, if you’re going to get sick throw up here.” Kris ran his hand through Tao’s hair, trying to comfort him, as he slowly nodded. 

Three more minutes passed and Tao began dry heaving. He was sobbing and crying about how much it hurt between each heave. 

He managed to throw up twice before they got to the mansion. But, once they were there Kris was quick to get out of the car and he simply picked Tao up and carried him into the mansion. “We’re here now, baby. Lay’s going to help you feel better.”  
“ _Hurry…_ ” Tao whined as Kris tried to go as fast as he reasonably could with Tao in his arms. 

Soon enough Tao was in a bed and getting an IV, which was a little difficult but they managed. Then Lay got the methadone started. Lay stuck around until the methadone kicked in and relief flooded Tao’s features before his eyes closed. After taking a deep breath in Lay actually pulled out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed one of Tao’s hands to the edge of the hospital bed.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Kris glared at him and actually stepped around the bed to be a few feet from Lay.  
“Listen, he is a huge runaway risk right now. Methadone will help him as if he is actually getting some heroine in his system so he won’t experience the dope sickness. But, it won’t give him a high and we are going to try and wait as long as we can between doses, so he will still experience some withdrawals. This is for his own good,” Lay explained in an even voice as he looked up at Kris. Slowly Kris began to nod in understanding, but he still didn’t like it. “Look, Tao is going to say and do things that is going to hurt you just so he could get another dose. So, please do your best to ignore him when does because that really won’t be him.”  
“I know. I’ve seen this before.”

Lay’s lips pursed together because it's unlikely that Kris has seen a lover like this before. “He has a long road ahead of him, Kris. Be patient with him.”  
“Okay.”  
“Do you need anything else..?”  
“No. Thank you.”

With that, Lay left their company.

Lay turned out to be right over the following few days when Tao was at his worst. Tao would do everything from sweet talking Kris to yelling at him to try and get free from the handcuffs or get another dose of his “medicine.” It was difficult on Kris, but he managed. Namely because he told Luhan to find Jihyun at all costs now. Kris tried to focus on looking forward to the day they caught Jihyun.

It’d be soon. Kris could feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drugs are bad, m'kay? 
> 
> Seriously kiddies. Don't do drugs.
> 
>  
> 
> **ALSO,** do you guys know how difficult it is to try and keep Lay as an innocent lil' lamb in this series since his new album dropped??? I don't think I can write him the same after listening to Boss and Peach a million and one times.


	7. Chapter 7

Tao wasn’t necessarily “better” as time went on. But he was no longer doing everything he could to try and get free of the handcuff placed on him. Although it was still not taken off of him. It wouldn’t be taken off until his methadone treatments were through. Unfortunately he was sober enough at times to realize exactly what kind of trauma he went through for that month he spent with Jihyun, it’s left him numb and quiet. Kris was slowly returning to himself, namely because of the rage that was starting to consume him. 

Once again, Jihyun has disappeared off their radar.

Kris was pushing back especially hard on those that were testing the family’s resolve. Lay’s been forced to stitch up everyone more than usual, even Kai needed stitches one night. Everything has kept Lay on edge for a while. Even Suho noticed he’s been stressed far more than usual. Lay was at least lucky the nurses knew what to do regarding Tao and his methadone treatments because there have been times he’s been unable to administer them since he was busy with one of the others. 

Even to his own surprise Lay was taking a long drag on a cigarette one evening. He loathed the taste of ash, it reminded him of Dean. But after all this mounting stress, he surprisingly found some respite in it. He flicked the cigarette, as if he’s done this for years, before a breeze carried some of the smoke away. Chills coated his skin from the cold weather and Lay took in a deep breath of the winter air, enjoying his time alone outside. Not to mention the reflection of the full moon looked beautiful on the pond he was looking at. He loved this little park he was at. It wasn’t far from the convenience store he bought the smokes from and it wasn’t too far from the mansion so it was still on the nice side of town. 

It was a nice night.

He took another drag on the cigarette and slowly let the smoke leave his mouth, watching the smoke billow up. Lay loved these rare thoughtless moments he allows himself on occasion. His eyes closed as he leaned back in the park bench, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket but ultimately deciding on ignoring it until he finished the cigarette. 

When he opened his eyes someone sat next to him on the bench. “Do you have a spare smoke?” The other man asked and Lay looked over at him and nodded, pulling the pack out of his coat pocket and offering it up to the man who slowly pulled a cigarette out of the pack. “I hate to ask, but do you have a light?” He asked with what sounded like a nervous chuckle. Lay actually smiled and nodded once again, offering him his lighter which he took for a moment with a grateful nod.

Lay watched the man cross his legs and lean back as he slowly took a drag off of the cigarette, only the moon and the faint light from the cigarette lighting his face. “Thank you for your generosity.” The man smiled once he brought the cigarette away from his lips, holding it only between his index and middle finger as his arm draped over the edge of the bench armrest.  
“Ah, yeah. It’s really no problem.” Lay shrugged him off as he looked at his half gone cigarette.  
“You’re a generous man by trade, hmm?” The stranger asked in a smooth voice as he looked over at Lay with an eyebrow raised. An amused sound escaped the back of Lay’s throat at the question.  
“I am a surgeon.” A slight laugh left Lay as he looked over at the man who let out a low whistle.  
“Shit, look at you. Successful too. What a catch,” The stranger hummed before taking another drag. Lay nervously shrugged as he took another drag since he was unsure of how to respond to that potential advancement. “What’s your name, baby?” The man looked over at Lay and Lay shifted in his seat a little.  
“Uhm… Lay and no offense, but I’m in a relationship, man. I just wanna throw that out there.” Lay tried to gently shut the man’s advancements down and he actually nodded.  
“Ah, sorry. I understand. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable if I did. Must be a lucky guy, though.”  
“I’d say I’m the lucky one.” Lay smiled as he thought about Suho. He should probably check his phone soon just in case it was Suho that texted him earlier. So, he took a long drag on the cigarette to finish it off before he leaned forward so he could drop it and crush it with his foot. But, then he realized the man hadn’t given him his name. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.” Lay said as he turned to face him, a friendly expression on his face, dimple showing and all.  
“Ah, that’s right. I forgot to give it. Jihyun.”

Immediately Lay’s expression fell and his face paled. A grin appeared on the man’s face as he looked at Lay. “I see my reputation must proceed me.” Lay’s hands were quickly trying to reach in his coat pocket for his phone since running wasn’t likely to do much for him but he froze when he heard a gun cock. His eyes looked back at Jihyun and sure enough a pistol was casually trained on him. “Oh come on, Lay. Let’s do this the easy way, hmm?” Jihyun actually gave him a wink and slowly Lay was pulling his hands away from his coat pocket. “There’s a good boy. No need to make this messy. So, what’s gonna happen is that we’re going to get up and you’re going to walk with me to my car and then you’ll willingly join me for a ride. How does that sound?”  
“Please, don’t.”  
“I do appreciate your manners, but sorry. I have a job to do.”  
“Can I at least send a text to Suho? He’s going to be looking for me if I don’t.” Lay was trying to find a way to at least somewhat talk to Suho once again since he was now unsure if he would ever again.  
“As long as I can watch you do so.” 

So Lay slowly pulled the phone from his pocket and checked his text message and sure enough Suho texted him.

_Suho:_  
_You okay???_

Slowly Lay worked on a text message with Jihyun looking right over his shoulder the entire time.

_Lay:_  
_Yeah. I just stopped for a smoke._

With that Lay hit send after getting confirmation from Jihyun that it was okay and put his phone away. “Alright, it’s time for us to go. Please don’t make this difficult,” Jihyun said and Lay nodded. He would not make this difficult on Jihyun. It actually surprised Jihyun how Lay didn’t resist at all. Even when they got to the car and Jihyun opened the passenger seat, Lay willingly got in. When Jihyun held up a pair of handcuffs Lay willingly offered up his wrists.

Lay wasn’t a fighter. Plus he thought that if he cooperated with Jihyun he might have some mercy in him and actually let him go. 

The drive wasn’t that long, but it was tense. They were going to a part of town that Lay never went to so he was not exactly sure where they were at, but he was trying to read street names as best as he could. He also tried to remind himself that Jihyun has not killed anyone yet. Well, he did try and actively kill Baekhyun. But otherwise he’s kept everyone alive, so there was some hope for Lay.

“Why the hell would you leave your safehouse when I’ve already caused your family so much pain?” Jihyun’s voice broke the silence and Lay turned to look at him, unsure if he was being mocked or not.  
“Let’s just say I’ve been stressed lately. I wanted a smoke so I had to go get some and I decided to enjoy myself while I was at it,” There was a definite edge to Lay’s voice as he looked over at Jihyun.  
“Well, now your family has lost their surgeon. Was it worth it?”  
“No.” 

Lay’s eyes went back out the passenger window. Now he was so frustrated with both himself and Jihyun that he wasn’t even paying attention to street signs. The rest of the drive was in silence. Lay’s frustration gave way to anxiety when he realized they left the city. They didn’t go too far out. But they did drive about fifteen minutes out and into an abandoned shipping warehouse it seemed. Seems like the city has plenty of those lying around.

When the car was parked around the back of it Lay was pulled out of the car by the handcuffs and led into the building. Eventually he was led into a decently sized office room. Lay was surprised to find what looked like an old hospital bed and even several water bottles in the room. 

Once he was in the room completely Jihyun was going through and cleaning out Lay’s pockets. But there was only his phone in his coat pocket and his wallet in his back pocket, well that and the pack of cigarettes and lighter. Jihyun let him keep his wallet since other than cash and cards there was nothing in there, but he took his phone, the cigarettes, and lighter. 

“Are you going to make this difficult on me, or can I take the cuffs off of you?” Jihyun asked, almost looking tired.  
“I won’t make it difficult.”  
“Hm. I like you much more than the others. Here I was thinking Tao was going to be my favorite.” Jihyun mused with a smile on his face as he went to unlock the handcuffs and remove them off of Lay. “I just hope you don’t mind isolation. I’ll be back in the morning with breakfast. I suggest you get some rest.”

Jihyun promptly turned on his heel and left the room, leaving Lay all alone and to wonder exactly what the hell he got himself into. 

He at least walked over to the other door in the room, but only found a bathroom beyond it, no windows inside the other room. The door Jihun left out of had a keypad next to it, which Lay assumed there was a passcode to get through it.

Well, looks like he was up shit creek without a paddle.

\----

Suho’s stomach was sinking with each minute that passed. Lay hasn’t responded to his text messages or missed calls and now it was past midnight. In the back of his mind he knew that Jihyun already made his move against Lay, but his heart was so hopeful that Lay would still be alright.

An hour passed with no word from Lay.

Suho finally decided to stop pacing in their bedroom and actually go to Xiumin’s bedroom door. Xiumin was his oldest friend, after all. He knocked on the door and there was no immediate reply, but after another knock he could hear Jongdae whining and so Suho was sure they were up. 

When the door opened Xiumin’s eyebrows immediately furrowed to find Suho at his door. It was a little awkward to bring this up when Xiumin was only wearing a pair of sweatpants and Suho could see Jongdae under the duvet in the bed in the corner of his eye. “Suho..?”  
“I think Jihyun has Lay.”  
“Ah, _shit_..” Xiumin swore as he ran a hand through his brown hair. “Have you sent Luhan a text?”  
“No.”  
“Alright, why don’t you do that and Jongdae and I will properly get dressed if you give us a moment.”

Suho nodded and took a step back so Xiumin could shut his bedroom door. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Luhan, letting him know that Lay still hasn’t come home and that Jihyun may have gotten to him. 

Eventually Xiumin opened the door back up to Suho and welcomed him inside their room mostly so that Jongdae could try and comfort the man while Xiumin got ahold of Kris. Suho was mostly focused on Jongdae, but when he heard Xiumin on a phone call his attention went to the older man. “If you’re calling Kris to come here... Also get Kyungsoo.” Suho then turned back to face Jongdae with a rather empty look on his face. Xiumin gave him a look when he turned away, but he didn’t question it.

Kris was the first to arrive, Xiumin told him the situation so thankfully he didn’t ask about it. But they waited for Kyungsoo who soon arrived with Kai tailing behind him. The man made a speedy recovery, but Lay was a good surgeon, of course he made a speedy recovery. 

Kris opened his mouth to speak but Suho beat him to the punch. “If Lay doesn’t show by morning I’m stepping down as consigliere for the time being. I won’t be able to be objective and won’t be able to make decisions for the good of the family,” Suho was so monotone as he spoke, but he was making sure his floodgates remained sealed for as long as possible. “I want Kyungsoo to take over for me until Lay is found. You said it yourself Kris, he’s smart.”  
“Whoa, wait a second-” Kris tried to speak so he could reason with Suho, but Suho wasn’t having it.  
“It’s for the good of the family.”  
“Are you sure?” Kyungsoo was the one that spoke up, his voice was even and sturdy as per usual. Suho actually looked over to him and nodded his head.  
“I’m certain you’d have the mental capacity to advise Kris properly and that you’d do so with the good of the family in mind.” Suho at least explained his reasoning for picking Kyungsoo out of everyone else. Now everyone was looking back over at Kris, who swallowed.

“ _Suho…_ ” Kris groaned as he ran a hand through his dark hair.  
“Kris, I will not have my judgement clouded. I will not risk the wellbeing of the family like this,” Suho firmly defended his decision, much to Kris’s dismany. But Suho was not like Kris. He would not waste away and neglect his duties. No, if he was emotionally compromised he would be responsible and take a step back so that at least someone else can do his job properly.

Kris let out a heavy sigh before he looked over at Kyungsoo. “Well, are you willing to juggle your responsibilities?” Kris asked the shorter man who firmly nodded.  
“I can do it,” He assured everyone in the room. Well, Suho knew he was capable.  
“Alright.. I guess that’s it then.” 

“Kyungsoo,” Suho spoke up and Kyungsoo looked over at him with an attentive expression. “Don’t forget that arguing with Kris is part of the job. If you think he’s wrong you have to tell him, no matter how much his thick skull won’t listen to you. You have to give him your honest opinion on things.” Suho would at least make sure Kyungsoo knew exactly what the job entailed. No one else could really argue with Kris except for Suho. So Suho figured that’d be the biggest challenge for Kyungsoo, but the man nodded once again.  
“I understand.”

“Now if you’ll excuse me.. I’m going to try and get some sleep.” Suho stood up from the chair he was in and walked past everyone, ignoring their worried gazes as he retreated to his lonely room. He wouldn’t sleep that night. He knew that much. But at least he could be alone to “process” this situation as best as he could. But before he could leave the room completely Kai stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.  
"We'll find him. I owe him one, so I'll be on the front lines looking for him." Kai was trying to reassure Suho, but it really wasn't working. So he simply nodded his head and continued on his way to his bedroom.

Sure enough, when the sun came up Lay was still MIA.

The entire day passed in a blur. Sometime after dinner Kris decided to have a meeting. He invited Suho but did not expect him to show. Suho decided it couldn’t hurt to sit in, but he stood by the door the entire time. He wasn’t surprised when the meeting was mostly to state that Kyungsoo was filling in for Suho and their search for Lay.

Suho stood there, half listening to the meeting and half in a daze. That was until his phone started to vibrate. Curious since most of his family was here. So he stepped out of the room through the large double doors. Once they were shut behind him he pulled his phone from the inside of his black suit jacket and answered the call. “Hello?”  
_Do not say a word unless I tell you to. If you understand say alright._ Suho swallowed hard as he processed the voice on the other end of the line.  
“Alright.” He tried to keep his voice as casual as he could but it was still strained.  
_Good. I think you know I have Lay. I do want you to know I will not hesitate to kill him if you piss me off. So here’s what is gonna happen. I’m going to text you an address. You’re going to go to it immediately and not tell anyone about it. You’ll want to hurry, because if you take too long I’ll sever Lay's thumbs. No more surgery for him! So, say ‘got it’ and nothing else unless you want your man to be in some severe pain._  
Suho’s teeth were clenched but he managed to barely get out a “got it.”  
_Do not keep me waiting, Suho._

The line went dead and Suho was already making his way for one of the cars.

Suho was eventually driving towards the same warehouse that Lay was taken to, not that he knew that. Once he parked the car outside and got outside he wandered inside the warehouse. He didn’t make it that far inside when Jihyun stepped out from around a corner with a pistol trained on Suho. “I’m pleased that you didn’t make me wait too long. Do you have any weapons on you?” Jihyun got to business and with pursed lips Suho slowly went to the pistol that was inside his suit jacket. He slowly pulled it out, careful to keep his finger far off the trigger as he held it up so Jihyun could see it before he slowly sat it on the ground. 

Jihyun made his approach towards Suho. Once he could he leaned over to grab the pistol off the ground and put it between his waistband and the small of his back, still keeping his own pistol trained on Suho the entire time. Jihyun gave him a sidelong look before he reached over to dig inside Suho’s pockets, searching him as he did Lay. Ultimately he kept his phone, but he also kept the hunting knife he found. “Ah, Suho. I knew you were holding out on me.” Jihyun grinned as he looked at Suho before he nodded off towards a door, indicating for Suho to walk towards it. 

Once Suho got close towards the door, still remaining as neutral as he could, he reached out to open the door. When it opened he found Lay sitting on an old hospital bed, the man seemed to be staring off at space, but when the door opened he looked up. Both of their jaws dropped and Lay stood up as Suho rushed inside to tightly embrace the man. One of his arms wrapped around Lay’s shoulders as his hand clutched at his gray shirt as if to hold him in place. The two held their embrace for a moment, but soon enough Suho was pulling away from Lay and cupping his face with his hands. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” There was panic in his voice, but he has been so worried about Lay.  
“ _I’m okay._ I’m okay.” Lay assured Suho with a somewhat out of breath voice, namely because how nervous he was to see Suho here with him. 

“Aren't you two just the cutest damn couple I’ve ever laid eyes on?” Jihyun’s voice pulled them back to reality and Suho slowly let go of Lay’s face as he turned to face Jihyun, who was leaned against the closed entrance to the room. Neither of the men said a word in response, but Suho did take a small step to the side so he was slightly in between Jihyun and Lay. “Cat got your tongue now?” Jihyun laughed as he glanced down at the pistol still in his hand.

“Why are you doing this? This is way beyond competition for the city,” Lay finally spoke up earning an amused chuckle from Jihyun.  
“Did you figure that out all on your own?” Suho’s eyes narrowed at Jihyun’s response. But didn’t say anything since he was not the one with a weapon at the moment. “Ah, I guess it’s a fair question… Your family took someone from me.”  
“You were part of Dean’s family?” Lay prompted, figuring if he could converse with the man he’d be more likely to let them go or slip up at least.  
“ _Dean’s family?_ ” Jihyun asked with a growing grin. “Don’t you mean, _my_ family?? Shit, Dean was smart and better with people, but who the hell do you think ran things?” His eyes momentarily narrowed as he spoke, looking frustrated with the misinformation Lay had, “Dean might have been the frontman of the family, but I was the one calling the shots.” 

Suho internally swore at this new information. This meant they stirred a real animal up. It’d be like if someone killed Tao and the rest of Kris’s family. That man would easily become a monster that’d haunt whomever was dumb enough to do such a thing. _Great._

“So Dean was your underboss…” Lay was still trying to gently prod for information but Suho turned his head to give Lay a warning look. They did not need to make Jihyun angry.  
“He was my lover too, if that’s what you want to hear.” Jihyun’s expression suddenly became so cold and empty. Suho knew it must be true if Jihyun was trying to steel himself as he was. 

\-------

Dean and Jihyun definitely had a complicated relationship. Dean was known for having a wondering eye and yet Jihyun still fell for the man. At first it was nothing but fun and even stress relief. But soon Jihyun looked forward to their secret rendezvous a little too much. Dean was different from anyone else Jihyun knew. He was charming and could easily pass for normal in the real world, but he was far from normal and just as cold blooded as Jihyun. He was only more patient and methodical in his violence. 

Previously Jihyun never saw his charming side as he only used it when “working,” but when he began to see glimpses of it he was sure even Dean was getting feelings. What else would explain the sweet nothings whispered into his ear whenever the two were alone in a bedroom? He was able to overlook Dean’s promiscuity, so long as Dean would share his bed at night and continue to whisper those sweet nothings into his ear.

Sometimes Jihyun hated how he got around Dean, but ultimately he did not mind how weak Dean could make him when they were behind closed doors.

“I love you,” Jihyun breathed one night, not even realizing the words escaped him until Dean froze and looked at him with slightly wider eyes. Jihyun almost laughed it off as a heat of the moment slip up, but Dean took one of his hands and interlocked their fingers before capturing Jihyun’s lips in a passionate kiss that was quickly deepened.  
“I love you too,” Dean replied the moment their kiss broke, confirming that Dean truly only had eyes for Jihyun where it mattered. 

There were plenty of times Jihyun silently wondered if Dean’s confession was another one of his lies, yet Jihyun ultimately allowed himself to believe Dean. Maybe he couldn’t physically keep his lover all to himself, but he could keep all of his love to himself. So Jihyun turned a blind eye to Dean’s behavior.

Of course, everything eventually came tumbling down for the small family. Everything was taken from them in one night, except each other. Jihyun was convinced it was best for them to leave the city and move on elsewhere. But Dean was convinced they could get revenge if they’d just wait it out. Which, they could since Jihyun was so very good at hiding and watching from the shadows. 

When Dean was certain it was the right time he made his move, promising Jihyun he’d be back probably into the next morning. 

He never came back. 

Jihyun had to pay someone off to know what happened to his lover. When he found out he actually went out into the field his body was dumped in. It was so difficult to recognize Dean with the way everything was broken. Jihyun couldn’t help but to stand there and look at the body of his lover for a moment, finding him to be so ugly in that moment. But ultimately he still held his deceased lover for a final time before he at least properly buried him.

He tried to move on, but could not do so at all. So, Jihyun came back to the city, five years ago and plotted his revenge.

He waited five years for this.

\-----

Suddenly the pistol was pointed at Suho and the man stood up straighter in response, but did not flinch, unlike his boyfriend. “Whoa, wait a second!” Lay tried to push past Suho to stand in front of him but one of Suho’s strong arms stopped him, holding him in place.  
“ _Cute._ ” Jihyun spat as the gun cocked.  
“It’s me you want! It’s me! I’m the reason Dean is dead!” Lay yelled as he stopped trying to push past Suho’s arm. His boyfriend turned to look at him with a horrified expression.  
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Suho asked with extremely wide eyes.  
“No, no. Let the man continue. I want to hear this.”  
“I told Kris Dean killed a member of his family when he hadn’t, I also told him he was a rat to the feds when I don’t know if he was. It’s my fault he’s dead. It’s my fault. So, please… Please take me instead.” Lay was finally stepping around Suho’s arm and slowly the pistol was getting aimed at him rather than Suho as Jihyun began to scowl.

“Really? You’re the one that stole Dean from me?”  
“ _Lay-_ ” Suho tried to stop Lay from speaking, but the younger man was already speaking up.  
“Yes. I am.”  
“Well… Isn’t this an interesting turn of events..?” Jihyun’s voice was quiet as he regarded Lay from behind the pistol aimed at him. Lay was preparing himself for the end. But, hey… If this saved Suho then it was worth it, right? “Lay, Suho… Look at each other.” Lay didn’t need to be told twice to turn his head to look at Suho who was to the side of him, but Suho was still glaring daggers at Jihyun.

“Oh, no. Suho, I want you to look at Lay. Tell him everything is going to be alright. _Lie to him,_ ” Jihyun growled as he looked at Suho. Suho pursed his lips before finally looking over at Lay.  
“It’s going to be okay.” The man managed to get out and Lay could see the tears building up.  
“Good, now tell him you love him.”  
“I love you.”  
“I love you too.”

_Bang!_

The gun went off and Lay flinched as his ears began to ring, but didn’t feel any immediate pain. Which he knew from experience that it didn’t mean much. So his hands quickly patted his midsection and still, no blood was felt. So, with his surprised expression he turned to Suho. Jihyun was bluffing with them, _oh thank God_. 

When he saw Suho the man was instead looking right at Jihyun with his jaw clenched. He was angry. Okay, yeah, that made sense. But then Lay saw Suho’s hand pressed against his stomach. _What..?_

“Suho?” Suho finally turned to look at Lay and that’s when he finally registered the pain in his eyes. It was then that he saw the deep crimson stains creeping up on his white button up shirt past his hand. 

“ _Shit! Suho!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but I _needed_ to get something out for Halloween. 
> 
> Hopefully you guys won't have to wait long for the next update because _whoa boy,_ that cliffhanger tho
> 
>  
> 
> ~~Sorry not sorry.~~
> 
>  
> 
> Happy Halloween, my friends! =D


	8. Chapter 8

_Bang!_

The gun went off and Lay flinched as his ears began to ring, but didn’t feel any immediate pain. Which he knew from experience that it didn’t mean much. So his hands quickly patted his midsection and still, no blood was felt. So, with his surprised expression he turned to Suho. Jihyun was bluffing with them, oh thank God. 

When he saw Suho the man was instead looking right at Jihyun with his jaw clenched. He was angry. Okay, yeah, that made sense. But then Lay saw Suho’s hand pressed against his stomach. _What..?_

“Suho?” Suho finally turned to look at Lay and that’s when he finally registered the pain in his eyes. It was then that he saw the deep crimson stains creeping up on his white button up shirt past his hand. “ _Shit! Suho!_ ” Lay cried out as he quickly put Suho’s arm around his neck so that he could support his weight as he walked him over to the hospital bed. 

“I’ll give you the chance I never had, Lay. The chance to save your lover.” Jihyun was speaking, but Lay couldn’t exactly register what he was saying since Suho cried out as Lay helped him into the bed. 

“Keep pressure on it,” Lay instructed as he rushed to get his jacket off of him. Then he quite literally ripped Suho’s white button up off, sending buttons flying to the floor. He moved Suho’s hand as he opened the shirt to get a good look at the wound. Gut shots were not good news. So Lay was kicking into overdrive. His hand pressed down on the wound firmly enough to cause Suho to cry out in pain while his other hand slipped underneath Suho to feel his back to see if the bullet went through or if it was still inside of Suho. He felt an exit wound in Suho’s back and pursed his lips, wondering how the hell he could fix this. 

“Lay.”  
“ _What?!_ ” Lay snapped as he turned back to look at Jihyun, who wore a flat expression.  
“Pick one. Pain medication or antibiotics.”  
“What???”  
“Pain medication or antibiotics.”

Lay’s expression fell even more when he realized what the hell he was actually getting asked. He shot a glance at Suho. He needed both. But ultimately infection would kill him if he did manage to save him from blood loss. So, he reluctantly turned back to face Jihyun. “Antibiotics.”  
“Okay.” 

Jihyun promptly pressed a code into the keypad by the door before exiting the room, leaving the two alone. So Lay’s attention went right back to Suho. “Look, I’m gonna figure out how to fix this, okay? It’s my job.” Lay wasn’t sure who he was trying to reassure as Suho nodded up at him with gritted teeth. Still his hand was firmly pressed into his stomach as he managed to bundle up his suit jacket and get it under his back against the wound so at least some pressure was put on it. Suho’s hand meanwhile was gripping tightly onto Lay’s wrist, his nails actually breaking some skin. “You’re going to be okay,” Lay promised him. He wasn’t going to let Suho die here.

The door opened back up and Lay turned around, about to yell at Jihyun for at least a needle and some dental floss. It wouldn’t solve any internal bleeding and Lay knew that. But Jihyun surprised him by carrying in an IV bag of what was assumed to be antibiotics and wheeling in a small cart, on top of it had all the proper tools Lay would need for surgery. “Inside the cart has everything you’ll need to start an IV, and even something where you could give him blood if he makes it that far. Here’s hoping you two are the same blood type.” Jihyun sat the antibiotics to the side as he backed off. But before he got to the door he came walking back holding a finger up. “Oh, and you’re going to want these,” Jihyun added as he pulled out four pairs of handcuffs from his coat pocket and handed them to Lay. “I doubt he will remain still otherwise. Enjoy your night!” 

Then Jihyun left. 

Lay was pale as he looked back over at Suho. “Lay, you don’t have to do this.”  
“Like hell I don’t.” Lay argued immediately as he spoke past the lump building in his throat.  
“You _can_ lose me, Lay. It’ll be okay. You can move on.” Lay wasn’t sure if Suho was scared of what was about to happen to him or if he was still trying to protect Lay, considering it was going to be hard on Lay’s psyche to operate on Suho with no anesthetic or pain medication involved.  
“I’m not letting you die,” Lay declared as he looked over Suho, trying to figure out where the hell to start. Well, Lay figured it’d be best to start with what would be the less painful part of everything. “Turn over, babe. I’m going to stitch up your exit wound first and go from there.” Lay unfortunately left Suho to struggle in moving himself as he went to dig through the cabinets for everything he was going to need. Okay, so there was no gloves. Good thing he chose the antibiotics because the risk of infection was gradually increasing as Lay registered the situation. Then again, if Suho dies here on this bed the pain medication might’ve been better for him.

Soon Lay was turning back to Suho and quickly got to work on his back. Suho has been stitched up before. So, Lay at least knew he could handle this much. It wasn’t too long before Lay was helping Suho lay back on his back again, which earned a groan of pain from him.

Here came the preparation for the hard part.

Lay grabbed one of Suho’s wrists the second he was on his back and clamped a cuff around it as tightly as he could before attaching it to the railing of the bed, making sure to restrict the movement of his arm as much as he could. Suho looked up at him with a truly wild look in his eyes. One that actually scared Lay. “I’m so sorry, but I have to.” Lay apologized as he quickly grabbed Suho’s other wrist before he began to fight back. Lay was unsure if he’d be able to overpower him even in this state.

Then he went and cuffed his ankles to the bed and then he grabbed the scalpel. He was going to have to get in there and actually suture everything otherwise the internal bleeding would kill Suho. His nerves made him pause as he looked around the room. Quickly, he went to go grab his coat and he propped it up on Suho’s chest so he wouldn’t be able to at least see what Lay was doing. He also brought a bundled up sleeve to Suho’s mouth. “You’re… Going to want to bite down on this,” Lay warned him with a frown and Suho reluctantly did as instructed. 

Now came the most difficult part as Lay looked down at Suho with the scalpel in his hand. He was going to have to work incredibly fast to outrace the bleeding and then hook himself up to Suho via an IV so he could transfuse some of his blood to his boyfriend since he couldn’t risk himself getting lightheaded during surgery. _Then_ he’d have to get Suho hooked up to antibiotics, because quite honestly that could wait at this moment. Yeah, so it wasn’t like this was going to be the most stressful thing he’s ever done or anything. Especially considering Suho was likely to start screaming the second he cut into him. 

_Shit._

After taking in a deep breath Lay forced his hands to move and make that first cut which was already difficult since Suho’s body was trying to jerk away from him and Suho was already letting out a muffled cry. “Suho, I know it’s going to be impossible. But I _need_ you to try and be still for me.” Lay spoke with a raised voice so that maybe Suho could hear him through his pain. Suho seemed to try since even if he squirmed and screamed into the coat, he was not jerking around near as badly. 

Lay tried to ignore Suho’s muffled screams. He really did. But it was the worst sound he’s ever heard in his entire life. It took everything in Lay to keep his hands steady and he even knew that wasn’t going to last that long. So he tried to tunnel vision on his work, which quite frankly was the inside of Suho. 

The hardest part to do on his own was look for where he was bleeding internally as he was beginning to appreciate his nurses much more now to have the extra eyes and hands around. But he took care of everything that needed a repair and managed to suture them back up properly. Suho was sweating profusely and beginning to hyperventilate. But there was nothing Lay would be able to do to calm him except to hurry the hell up. 

“I’m closing you up, Suho! Then that’s it! We’ll be done!” Lay yelled so that maybe it’d get through to Suho as he stitched up the entry wound. It must’ve gotten through to him because he let out a loud sob in response. Lay was surprised Suho was even still conscious, but maybe his fast hands helped some. 

Once the last stitch was made Lay held his hands, which were covered in Suho’s blood, up in the air. “Done!” He announced and Suho let out a high pitched whine through the coat still in his mouth. 

Lay put everything up and gently pulled the coat from Suho’s mouth, briefly glancing at it as he did so, Suho managed to chew through some of the material. Suho wasn’t bothering to be quiet about the way he cried, but Lay couldn’t blame him at all. Lay went to dig through the cabinet once again before he walked back over to Suho. He quickly undid every handcuff on him, but not before warning him to not curl up in a ball. Once that was done Lay grabbed Suho’s arm and felt for a vein. He managed to quickly get one before he fumbled with his own left arm to get the other needle in one of his own veins so he’d be on the other end of the IV tubing. “Alright, let’s see if this works,” Lay muttered as he held his arm up higher than Suho and climbed into the bed and sat up, still with his arm raised so that gravity could carry his blood through the tubing and into Suho. They were lucky. While they weren’t the same blood type, Suho was AB, so he could still receive blood from Lay. But a gravity based infusion was going to take a while and make Lay’s arm sore as hell.

At least this gave them both a moment to breathe.

Well, it gave Lay one. Suho was still whimpering and trying to come down from his adrenaline high, but it was easy to see he was still in so much pain. “Hey, Suho… You’re going to be okay. The hardest part is done,” Lay let out a heavy breath, not realizing he was sweating almost as bad as Suho was. Suho still wasn’t out of the woods, definitely not. There was still a huge risk for infection, blood loss, and Lay could’ve missed something inside of him and he could still be internally bleeding. But Lay wasn’t lying when he said the hardest part was done. 

Suho nodded his head enough to let Lay know he heard him as his eyes twisted shut, squeezing a few more tears out of his eyes. Lay reached for his coat again and worked on cleaning the blood off of his hands before he dared to put his right hand on Suho. “I’m here, babe,” Lay spoke softly as he looked down at the man, his right hand moving to take one of his hands. Suho tightly squeezed his hand and that’s when the tears finally decided to escape Lay’s eyes. “I’m so sorry I had to do that to you.” Lay was sorry that there was no other choice, but he’d do it again if it saved Suho. Suho only opened his eyes to look over at Lay with a weak gaze. “You’re going to be okay. I know it hurts, I know it does. But try and rest. I’ll stay up and make sure you’re okay. I’m not going anywhere.” Lay’s voice was soft as his hand gave Suho’s a reassuring squeeze. Suho faintly nodded before closing his eyes. 

It was going to be a long night. 

Lay gave as much blood as he reasonably could before he disconnected the line between he and Suho. Then he got another IV on him and hooked him up to the antibiotics, which he was forced to awkwardly use his absolutely ruined coat to hang the bag of IV fluids off a fixture in the ceiling by essentially stitching the top, plastic, bit of the bag to his coat as he pulled a table over to stand on while he tied his coat on the fixture. It was awkward, but it served it’s purpose so Lay didn’t have to sit there and hold the IV bag like he did for the blood, which he was thankful for since his arms were so tired. 

Once he was done he manually checked Suho’s heart rate which was obviously elevated, but he seemed to be in an “acceptable” range, all things considered. Thankfully exhaustion seemed to be enough to get Suho to sleep. So Lay found himself yawning as he laid on the edge of the bed with Suho, trying to ignore his bloodstained shirt.. 

It was probably around morning and Lay decided that he could try and get some sleep. He tried. He wasn’t so successful. He’d sleep for about thirty minutes before waking back up to check on Suho to see if he was still breathing. At least his bleeding has actually stopped and there was no heavy signs of bruising around Suho’s abdomen, so Lay figured they were safe from internal bleeding. That didn’t stop him from waking up in a panic every time though. 

Lay was thankful that Suho seemed to be sleeping during most of this pain at least because Lay knew it was likely miserable.

Late in the morning the door to the room finally opened and Lay shot up, immediately waking up from his dreadfully light sleep. Jihyun was standing there with two paper bags. Lay crawled out of the bed once he looked back at Suho to make sure his chest was still rising and falling. “He still alive?” Jihyun asked as he nodded over to Suho. Lay nodded as he warily watched Jihyun.

“Tough bastard.” He actually laughed as he sat the bags on the table. “Here’s some breakfast for each of you and I got my hands on more antibiotics since you guys are probably gonna be here for the long haul. And before you say anything, yes, I got soft and easy food for Suho just in case I hit something that’ll make digesting difficult,” Jihyun explained, gesturing to each bag as he did so. 

Lay couldn’t talk to Jihyun. He was too tired and too mad to. So, he merely walked over to the paper bag with food in it and decided he could at least force himself to eat during this time. 

“You know, Lay. There is a way you two could probably get out today.”

Immediately Lay stopped and turned around to face Jihyun. Jihyun grinned as he pulled a pistol out, which made Lay internally groan. If he was going to give the same offer he gave Kris, Lay might actually tell him to go to hell. But, no. He actually put the pistol in Lay’s hands and then forced him to aim the gun at himself. 

Lay stared at Jihyun in confusion as the man pressed his forehead against the barrel of the gun. “You’ve never killed someone before have you? No, you’re a healer not a killer.” Jihyun was goading Lay and Lay didn’t understand why, but his grip on the gun tightened as he put his finger on the trigger. “Come on, stoop to my level. You’re gonna have to fight fire with fire if you want to get out of this hell.” 

Lay was still baffled by this but his eyes narrowed and his face hardened as he mentally prepared for this. Yet, when he tried to pull the trigger his finger wouldn’t move. He tried again, once again his body failed to respond. With a groan he let go of the gun, leaving it in Jihyun’s hands.

He couldn’t do it.

“Exactly what I thought.” Jihyun spat before leaving them once again.

With a heavy sigh Lay ran his hand through his hair that was in terrible need of a wash. He turned back to the food and managed to eat his own fill before going back to Suho. He was extremely hesitant to wake Suho, but he should probably try and drink something. So, he walked over to the side of the bed and ran his hand through Suho’s hair before double checking his pulse. 

“Hey, Suho.” Lay’s voice was gentle and soft as he looked at Suho, trying to gently wake him. Slowly Suho’s eyes opened, before slamming shut as he tried to move, but Lay’s hands went to his shoulder to keep him from sitting up. “Just try and relax, alright?” Suho’s eyes opened back up as he regarded Lay. “Do you think you can drink some water?” Lay asked and Suho slowly nodded. 

Suho was still pale. Lay wasn’t too sure if it was from pain or low blood count. He couldn’t give him a whole lot of blood last night without risking himself, so maybe it was the latter. That and the antibiotic IV bag was finally empty. Thankfully Jihyun brought more antibiotics that Lay would try and space out over their stay as much as he reasonably could since he was planning on being here indefinitely. “Let me get another IV on you and then I’ll work on getting you some water.” 

Lay groaned over how unsanitary this entire situation was, but he still grabbed a water bottle and sat it at the head of the bed before getting a stick on Suho’s good arm. Once he managed to get the IV in his left arm once again Lay climbed back into the bed to hold his left arm up so gravity could do its job. But he still helped Suho get a drink of the water. 

Once the water bottle was set to the side Lay realized how much he loathed seeing Suho like this. Maybe it was selfish, but Suho was Lay’s rock. Lay never wanted to see him this weak ever again. It didn’t help that this was all Lay’s fault and that he also had a chance to get both of them out of here today, but he squandered it all because he didn’t have the stomach for it.

What the hell was he doing?

Did he really think the could live with the mafia and think he could avoid committing acts of violence? That was probably the dumbest thing he’s ever believed. But yet Suho here would not have hesitated to pull the trigger if the roles were reversed. 

Suho truly was stronger than he was.

“ _Lay…_ ” Suho’s voice was so rough and scratchy when he managed to speak up, causing Lay’s attention to snap to his face instead of the wound on his stomach. “We’ll get out of this. Okay..?” 

Wow, even now Suho was trying to comfort Lay when he was probably absolutely miserable.

“I could’ve had a chance to get us out earlier,” Lay blurted out as he felt some heat building up behind his eyes. When he saw the look of confusion on Suho’s face he explained the earlier situation to him and his expression fell further.  
“Oh, Lay…”  
“I’m so sorry, Suho. I should’ve done it. I’m so sorry.” Lay’s left arm was already getting sore from being held up, but it didn’t compare to how guilty he felt right now.  
“It’s okay… I’m glad you didn’t.”  
“What..?”

Suho groaned as he shifted in the bed some, looking as if he was trying to scoot to the edge a little more to give Lay some more room on the bed. “You’re a good person… I don’t want that innocence taken from you… Once you cross that line... “ Suho trailed off as his eyes closed for a long moment, “There’s no coming back.”  
“You would’ve shot him for me.”  
“Because I’ve already killed so much before. Taking his life would be nothing to me…”

This didn’t help Lay feel any better, but he still leaned over and pressed a kiss to Suho’s forehead. “I wish I would’ve done it.” Lay muttered as he let out a soft sigh. 

\---- 

Two whole days passed with no end in sight. Suho assures Lay he isn’t hurting as much, but Lay knew he was lying. Jihyun still comes by to give them food, but never does he bring anything that would truly help Suho’s situation. Lay was realizing that Suho would die here if they didn’t leave and get to a clean facility. There was so much more he needed as a part of a treatment that Lay could not give him here. So every time Jihyun walked in Lay was thinking it’d be easier to kill him.

On the fourth day of being held Lay was at a snapping point.

Suho was napping that evening when Jihyun brought dinner in. Lay knew the drill, don’t approach him while he was in the room unless told otherwise. But that didn’t keep him from speaking up. “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.” Jihyun only laughed at Lay’s boldness.  
“Yeah you should have,” Jihyun shrugged as he looked over at Lay before pulling the pistol from between the small of his back and waistband and aimed it at Lay. “But you know… I really don’t appreciate threats in the slightest. I wonder how well Suho will recover when his caretaker is dead on the floor?”

Lay didn’t know he had it in him when he took a large bold step forward towards Jihyun so they were only a few feet from each other. “I’m calling your bluff,” Lay stated and Jihyun’s lips twisted into a devilish smirk.  
“Exciting, isn’t it? Well, maybe I could just finish off…” Jihyun’s words trailed off as he started to move the pistol to point as Suho as the gun cocked. Before Jihyun could continue speaking Lay was moving. 

His hands reached out and grabbed the pistol forcing it upwards. Jihyun pulled the trigger as he did so, but it went into the ceiling instead. Now Lay was in a struggle with Jihyun over the gun. Suho woke up after the shot and now he was yelling something since he could see Jihyun and Lay fighting for the gun, but Lay couldn’t hear him at the moment. 

Suddenly a fist clocked Lay right in the jaw, dazing him for only a moment. Yet, his grip on the gun remained steadfast. When he recovered he pushed against Jihyun, which caused the man to push back. This sent Lay tumbling backwards with Jihyun in tow.

The gun went off again once they both hit the floor, knocking over the cabinet where all of Lay’s medical supplies was. Once again they were both lucky the shot seemed to go into the wall as the gun slid across the room. Lay could hear Suho yelling his name and groaning in pain, but his attention was on scrambling over towards the gun.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Jihyun muttered as he grabbed a fistufl of Lay’s shirt and pulled him back over towards him. Lay could feel Jihyun start trying to get a good grip on Lay to probably keep him in place so he could get a headstart for the gun. So Lay rolled over on his back and actually kicked at Jihyun until he was able to connect his heel with his jaw, stunning him this time. Once more, Lay started to scramble for the gun. 

Jihyun recovered quickly and pulled him right back over to him again. Lay wasn’t a fighter, but he still threw a wild fist at Jihyun, managing to hit him around his temple area. That didn’t stop Jihyun from getting on top of him to straddle him. “Okay, you know what? I’m done with your shit.” Lay was trying to hit him again as Jihyun spoke, but Jihyun grabbed his arms to stop his movements. “Suho! Tell Lay goodbye!” Lay continued to struggle against the man’s grip, but suddenly Jihyun was letting go of his arms.

For a moment Lay thought he could maybe hit Jihyun so hard it could knock him off of him.

That was, until he felt both of Jihyun’s hands wrap around his throat, immediately cutting off his air. At first his hands wildly went to Jihyun’s hands to try and pry them off of him, but his grip was not loosening as Lay unsuccessfully tried to take in a breath. 

There was a switch flipped in Lay’s mind. He was going to actually die if he did not do something immediately. He could vaguely hear the sound of something crashing and what he assumed to be Suho crying out in pain. So, he turned his head as much as he actually could to see what happened to Suho.

Lay could see Suho crawling on the ground for the gun, but he also saw something more important. As his vision began to blur his right hand reached out to the side of him to grab something just out of reach. Jihyun laughed as he visibly struggled to get a weapon. Lay looked back up at Jihyun with tear filled eyes to try and make eye contact as he began to get tunnel vision. 

_Almost… There.._

The moment his hand wrapped around the little medical instrument his vision began to start to get so blurry he could hardly make anything out. That didn’t stop him from moving quickly enough to slice the upper part of Jihyun’s throat right open with the scalpel.

His vision began to fade so he couldn’t see the look of horror on Jihyun’s face, but he could vaguely make out the sensation of Jihyun’s blood pouring all over him. One of Jihyun’s hands came off of Lay to try and wrap around his own throat as if it’d stop the massive amounts of bleeding. That was enough for Lay to sneak in a quick breath, which allowed his vision to remain, as blurry as it was, for a bit longer. Jihyun never let go of Lay’s throat, but that grip loosened when Jihyun slumped over Lay.

Lay drew in a deep breath with a loud gasp before he began to let out a terrible cough. He tried to roll over to the side, but that was when he felt Jihyun’s dead bodyweight on him, keeping him in place. That didn’t stop Lay from miserably coughing underneath him. 

“ _Lay…_ ” 

Suho’s voice sounded so far away, but it was enough to ground Lay back to reality. That’s when he realized Jihyun’s hand was still actually on his throat. Quickly Lay was slapping the hand away before he pushed Jihyun off of him so he could sit up in a panic. Only then did he actually look at Jihyun to see his throat almost sliced ear to ear. He was dead. 

Lay killed him.

Lay wanted to say he felt sick to his stomach over the situation, but he didn’t. If anything he felt satisfaction. 

Slowly his eyes pulled away from Jihyun’s corpse and over to Suho, who was shaking while holding the pistol in his hands. Suho actually looked terrified, but if Lay could see himself he would understand. There were already black marks on his throat where Jihyun’s hands previously were, but that could only be seen on the occasional bit of skin on his throat that did not have blood on it. Jihyun’s blood coated his chest and upper arms, there was even some on his chin and left cheek. Lay didn’t realize that the right hand that was holding the scalpel was also coated in blood. Add in his wild eyes and Lay looked like a whole other person.

After a few moments Lay seemed to snap out of it and dropped the scalpel to run his hand down the lower half of his face, smearing more blood on him. “ _Lay…_ ” Suho was still trying to talk to his boyfriend, but Lay still didn’t respond. He only quickly turned over to Jihyun’s body to start going through his pockets. Eventually he found Suho’s phone on him at least. 

Lay wasn’t sure why he chose to call Jongdae immediately out of everyone else, but the phone was almost immediately picked up. _SUHO?!_  
“No… It’s Lay,” he sounded like he was in a dream since he was still struggling to come to his senses, not to mention his voice was also rough and scratchy after almost having his windpipe crushed.  
_Lay! Oh, thank God! Where are you!?_

Finally after a blinking a few times Lay finally came to his senses. “I-.. I don’t know. I’ll try and send you an address. But please hurry to get us when you do. Suho is hurt real bad.”  
_Are you okay??? You sound like shit._  
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine. Jihyun’s dead.”  
_Holy shit._

Lay didn’t bother with much more. Instead he hung up and went through Suho’s phone, eventually finding the address in the text messages that he assumed was where they were at. After sending it to Jongdae Lay quickly moved over to Suho, who sat down the gun at least. For a long moment the two only sat next to each other, they did not even embrace each other, but considering Lay looked like a wild animal more than a man at the moment it made sense. He finally turned over to Suho, but mostly to look at his stomach to see if he busted a stitch, so far it doesn’t look like he has. 

It was then that Lay finally wrapped his arms around Suho and pressed his head against his bare chest. Suho lifted one of his hands up for a moment while he used his other to brace himself to it up, as if he was surprised by the touch. If Lay would’ve been in the right mind he would’ve been hurt and thought that Suho did not want to touch him after what he did. But he was not in the proper mindset, so he simply hung onto the man who has lost some weight over the few days. 

Slowly one Suho’s hands went to rest on Lay’s back and Lay let out a soft, albeit shaky, breath in response. “It’s okay, Lay… It’s over..” Suho was trying to be reassuring to the younger, but Lay was still staring at the wall to the side of them.  
“Is it?” Lay muttered in response. He couldn’t see Suho’s lips pursed together at his comment. But even in Lay’s hazy mind at the moment, he knew that by taking Jihyun’s life he started himself down a dangerous slippery slope. This time it was to save Suho. What would his excuse be the next time he kills? 

If there’s a next time, anyways.

So much time passed before they could hear the others calling for them. Lay’s almost ruined voice called back out to them, but it hurt to raise it very much. He knew Suho wouldn’t fair much better with how weak he’s grown. Luckily they were heard because soon they could hear Jongdae banging on the door. “You’ll have to break it open!” Lay instructed them and then they were told to move away from the door, but they were already on the opposite side of the room luckily enough. 

Chanyeol’s shotgun blasted the deadbolts out of the door, absolutely destroying it as he did so. The door barely needed a nudge to fall open. Kai was actually the first to step into the room and immediately his eyes went to Jihyun’s body. He practically turned his nose up at his corpse as his eyes went to find Lay and Suho and when they did they widened. Lay was still absolutely covered in blood. Considering the mortal wound on Jihyun’s throat it was easy to see who killed him. 

When everyone filled into the room they all paused when they saw Lay, surprised that their sheep could be capable of such an act. Yet no one said a word about it. So, Kai, Chanyeol, and Baekhyun all worked on helping Suho to the car while Jongdae extended his hand out to Lay to help him off the ground. “Are you okay?” Jongdae asked Lay after pulling him up.  
“Throat hurts, that’s all.”  
“I mean are _you_ okay?”

Lay looked over at Jongdae before giving Jihyun’s corpse a side eye. “Suho’s safe now. That’s what matters.” Jongdae reluctantly nodded in understanding when Lay somewhat answered him. Kris and Xiumin both approached Lay, which led to Jongdae going ahead and heading to one of the cars to get out of their way.  
“We’re proud of you,” Xiumin spoke first as Lay began to walk towards the exit, not really acknowledging him.  
“Lay,” Kris’s voice got Lay to pause and face the man. “Once Suho is taken care of and you’ve gotten some rest I want you and I to talk. Privately.” Lay solemnly nodded, wondering how much trouble he was in for causing Kris’s advisor to get hurt. 

Lay was immediately back to work after a shower and change of clothes. He was making sure Suho was completely taken care of in their infirmary, completely ignoring the nurses trying to check his own throat. 

Once Lay was certain that the nurses could completely tend to Suho without his help Lay allowed himself some sleep. Only because he knew that he was going to need his energy to operate on Suho again to make sure everything was stitched up properly and to also remove the stitches he was given by Jihyun in favor of his own that were less likely to cause infection on down the road. It’d be hard on Suho’s body, but in the long run it’d be better for him. No to mention he was going to be able to have pain medication and be out for this surgery. 

A week passed before Lay finally seemed to be back in the right mindset. Well, for the most part. He was at least well rested, well fed, and he could speak properly. He still seemed a little out of it, but he was still so very stressed.

Kris pulled him into his office one day to finally ask the question no one else wanted to ask either Lay or Suho, “What happened to you?” Lay answered the question, fully and in detail. He explained everything that happened to he and Suho while Jihyun held them captive. 

After a while Kris finally told him he was proud, once again, but Lay didn’t really respond. “Look, I know it wasn’t easy for you. But anyone else here would’ve done the same. You are one of us and you are part of this family. I’m glad you did what you could to protect it and Suho.”  
Lay finally nodded in response, “Thank you.” 

There was a few moments of silence between the two before Kris sighed. “Others smelt blood in the water. Our hold on the city is getting tested. Jihyun is dead, but he caused enough chaos that we still have a mess to clean up. You may still be busy while we finish crushing the ‘competition’ we have on our hands. I just want you to be mentally prepared for that.”  
“I understand. You don’t have to worry. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe and healthy,” Lay finally looked Kris in the eye when he spoke, his serious expression seemed to even unsettled Kris. But Kris did crack a small smile.  
“You’ve been around Suho too long. You’re starting to sound like him.” Lay even smiled at that.

He lost one family before. He wasn’t going to lose this one.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyyy. Guess who's back after like a two month break??? It's ya girl, back at it with the depressing fanfic.
> 
> But seriously, guys. I decided to take a break from this and get back to it when I felt revitalized. So I focused on the end of my fall semester in college, friends who are moving kind of far away, and friends and family in general for the holidays.
> 
> Buttttttt since I didn't have any new years plans I was able to wrap this chapter up.

Even though Jihyun was gone, he was still damaging the Wu family.

The more obvious “butterfly effect” Jihyun caused was the mental scars. Lay couldn’t heal those. He wasn’t a therapist. But even if he was, he doubted anyone would actually come to him for help, or accept that help. These were people that were already used to carrying their own burdens. They weren’t going to look for mental help. They’d only lean on each other a little bit more.

Lay was fine with that, in the long run. He’d let them cope however they could.

The larger problem on their hands was the gangs and smaller families on the outskirts of the city. They all could smell blood in the water.

Everyone wanted a piece of the the pie Kris made for himself. They were not waiting for the opportunity to slide on by.

Lay was still busy tending to Suho. He was still healing, but the man was too stubborn to stop and let his body heal.

“Kyungsoo can handle it,” Lay would tell him time and time again as Suho struggled to walk through the mansion.  
“Let me do my job.”  
“Let me do _my_ job, Suho.”

The others were getting used to Suho barging in a room, pale and sweaty. Lay fretting over him as Suho ignored him and began giving his opinions on their current issues.

On top of dealing with Suho’s stubborn workaholic nature, Lay was trying to tend to everyone else. He needed to make sure they were staying healthy. He’s turned into quite the mother hen, even making sure everyone was eating well. That alone was a chore. Luhan, for example, always appreciated Lay making sure Sehun was eating well. But when Lay made sure Luhan was eating the man would wave him off, telling him he was fine.

Exhaustion was beginning to hamper Lay. But it was also effecting everyone else.

Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Kai, were getting wounded more often. Even Kai was showing up with flesh wounds from bullets grazing him. But despite their push back, the jackals were still intent on getting their scraps.

One evening Lay sat down in his shared bedroom with Suho, who refused to stay in the “hospital” room around the nurses. He let out a heavy exhale as a hand rubbed his temples. “Lay?” Suho’s voice drew his attention and Lay’s lips pursed as he looked over at his lover, fearing something was wrong. Suho’s brows furrowed and his lips parted as he laid there on his back.

He was worried about Lay more than himself, as usual.

Lay didn’t respond. He only crawled over onto the bed and laid his head on Suho’s shoulder. His fingers ran over the man’s bare chest. Lay was trying to focus on that rather than the bandages wrapped around his midsection. Suho’s hand fondly went to rest on Lay’s head as the two laid there in silence.

It hasn’t been the same since Suho was shot and, well… Lay killed Jihyun. Neither of them talked about it. But something was different. _Off_ , even. Or maybe that was just Lay. He has not tried to do anything passionate with Suho. His reasoning was that Suho was still healing, he still needed time. But perhaps he feared Suho pushing him away. He feared Suho seeing him differently now.

He tried to focus on his right index finger tracing circles on Suho’s chest over his thoughts. But his finger would slow every time he got too focused on his worries.

“Lay.” Suho’s voice finally made him snap out of it, but he didn’t move.  
“Hmm?”  
“ _Hey._ ”

Lay lifted up his head to finally look at Suho. Suho’s hand moved down from Lay’s head to rest against his face. He couldn’t help but to lean into the touch as he looked at the older’s eyes. There was a long moment of silence, but Lay didn’t mind. He knew Suho wasn’t the most “vocal” man out there.

It still surprised Lay when Suho pulled him down for a kiss.

Eyes naturally fell shut for the both of them as their lips pressed against each other. It was strange at first though, like they weren’t sure if they should end it there or continue. So there was no movement from either of them for a moment. Since Suho was injured their kisses were never more than this, anyways.

Yet Suho slowly began to kiss Lay. He continued to press his lips against the other. Out of natural habit Lay’s head tilted to the side and his lips parted, allowing Suho to deepen the kiss. After that, it was as if their bodies were on autopilot. They did not have to put any thought into how they physically interacted with each other. Their bodies knew what to do.

Suho’s hand moved once again and his fingers ran through Lay’s hair. Lay’s hand on Suho’s chest flattened against it, feeling the way his heart _still_ raced today.

Maybe it was him all along. Maybe nothing has changed.

The kiss became needy, which always was Lay’s fault. Suho would never complain, but Lay needed more. He always needed more of Suho. So, his hand began to trail down Suho’s chest to go further down on his torso and…

Lay froze.

Suho broke the kiss, because his lover slammed on the brakes. The second the kiss broke Lay looked down at his hand, which was resting on top of the bandages around Suho’s waist. Down below would be the wound that still had stitches holding it together. Suho had been through hell.

“Lay?”  
“I’m sorry… I forgot..”

Lay looked back at Suho, both of them wore almost identical looks of concern. But that’s what happened when you’re around someone everyday for over seven years. It took a moment for Suho to realize what Lay “forgot.”

“ _Lay…_ I’m fine,” He tried to assure Lay, but the younger was shaking his head in disagreement.  
“Suho, _you’re not_ fine. If you were fine you wouldn’t be bandaged up right now,” Lay’s tone was far sharper than he intended it to be

“Lay, I’m not going to break. If I haven’t broken already, I’ll be fine.” Suho didn’t seem to care about his injuries. Those fingers in Lay’s hair were starting to massage his scalp, trying to calm Lay down. Lay hated to admit it was working. It didn’t help that Suho’s free hand went to Lay’s shoulder, at first it was innocent enough. Until Suho’s fingers started to play with the collar of Lay’s shirt. Like how he’d play with the hem of his shirts before tugging them off of the man.

Lay hated how he faltered. He wanted to ignore the trauma Suho sustained in favor of getting his own physical pleasure. He also hated the way Suho took note of his lack of a protest.

“Lay, you haven’t let me touch you since… Well, _everything._ ”

This left Lay dumbstruck. “You haven’t…” _Touched me_. But those two keywords failed to leave Lay’s lips.  
“Every time I try and kiss you, you end it after a peck. Granted, until now. Every time I try and do little things like before, you’ll pull away. Like hugging you from behind, for example… You’ll walk away. Or even here in bed… You used to cling to me and tangle yourself up with me. It made getting out of bed so damned hard and I swear that’s why you did it. But… You don’t do that anymore.”

Lay sat there, leaned over Suho still as he watched the conflict in Suho’s eyes. So it had been him. Now he felt worse. In fearing Suho rejecting him, he was silently rejecting him without even noticing it.

“I’m sorry.” Those were the only words Lay could think of in that moment.  
“I know you don’t want me to get hurt. But trust me, Lay. Trust me to tell you if I do hurt. _Please._ ”

Lay’s wide eyes didn’t blink as they stared into Suho’s. But finally, he blinked. “Okay,” He breathed the word more than spoke it.  
“Okay?”  
“Okay.”

There was a long beat of silence between them, neither one of them moving. Then Lay finally broke the silence. “Red or green?” It took Suho a moment before he responded, surprised that Lay asked. Lay never asked, it was always Suho asking.  
“ _Green._ ”  
“Then let me take care of you tonight.”

Lay only got a slight nod from Suho, but that was all he needed before his lips pressed against Suho’s once again. They only broke the kiss long enough for Lay’s shirt to get tugged off of him and tossed to the side of the room. Lay let Suho’s hands explore his torso for a long minute before he finally moved, breaking the kiss. But he had other things in mind for tonight.

\---

The two were sound asleep.

Lay's body tangled up in Suho's as they laid there, but still careful to avoid laying on his stomach.

All was right in the world for that night.

The early morning was a different story.

It was about three in the morning when both of the men woke up with a start to a loud noise. But they both remained in bed, unsure if they heard anything in the first place. 

“ _Suho-_ ”  
“ _Shh!_ ” Lay flinched at how harshly he silenced him, but otherwise the two didn’t move. Lay was sitting up, leaning to the side as he propped himself up with one hand. Suho was still laying down, but his head was resting against the headboard. Lay knew it still hurt him to make sudden movements.

Suho was inching over towards the nightstand. His hand opening the drawer but his eyes never left the door to the hallway outside of their bedroom. 

_“ _Lay.__ ”  
“ _Hm?_ ” Lay couldn’t bring himself to actually speak as Suho’s hand reached into the nightstand drawer. The fact that Suho wasn’t speaking above a whisper didn’t help.  
“ _Get us both some pants. Now._ ” 

Lay didn’t hesitate to do as Suho commanded. He scrambling out of their bed and towards their closet, grabbing them some PJ pants. They haven’t heard anything since they both woke up. So he figured the PJ pants would be best so they could immediately go back to sleep. Lay slipped on the soft light blue pants before he turned from the closet with the black pair in his hands. He paused when he saw Suho’s bare back as the man sat on the edge of their bed. He’s lost some muscle lately since Lay hasn’t let him exercise until he has healed. But that back of his never failed to leave Lay with flushed cheeks. 

Until he realized Suho was sliding a loaded magazine into the pistol he kept in their nightstand. 

Lay shuffled back over to pass off the pants to Suho. “ _Lay go get the other pistol, load it and make sure the safety is off. Remember what Kai taught you about using one._ ” Lay nodded at Suho’s words, walking back to the closet to pull out the gun case. Lay fumbled with the code to open it, but then did exactly as Suho asked. 

Three loud pops finally cut through the heavy silence. Lay flinched before looking back over to Suho who was jumping up to a standing position, hissing at the pain. 

The only sound that was audible was Lay’s feet on the wooden floor as he ran across the room and over to Suho. “Suho, we should stay put.”  
“ _Like hell I’m-”_

Two more shots sounded off, cutting them both off from an argument. Then more shots came and it sounded like a full fledged firefight was going on downstairs. 

“ _The nurses._ ” Lay finally thought of someone other than Suho in the moment and scrambled for the door. He threw it open and went out into the hallway without checking to see if it was safe. He didn’t realize Suho was right behind him as he darted for the stairway. 

The man got half way down the steps before gunshots had him turning around and making his way back up. He could hear Baekhyun yelling, but couldn’t make out the words he was saying. Then there were foreign voices. Something about “ _burning this shit down_.” Then he could very clearly hear Baekhyun yelling back. “ _THAT’S MY JOB YOU ASSHOLES!_ ” 

“ _Shit!_ ” Lay turned his head when he heard Suho swear, actually sounding afraid. But what he saw even made his own heart stutter. Suho had his pistol aimed directly in Kai’s face. But neither of them seemed to have heard his approach. Kai didn’t seem phased though. Either way, Suho dropped his arm and Kai glanced at the stairs that Lay was hovering at the top of. 

It was strange, the three of them not having shirts on at a time like this. But they were caught by surprise. Kai at least had on proper dress pants, but that was about it. “Where are you trying to go?” The assassin asked as his heavy gaze turned back on Lay. 

“My staff…” That was all Lay could verbalize as he looked back down the hallway. Kai nodded his head in understanding as he cocked his gun back.  
“Baekhyun is trying to help Chanyeol get to his office. He needs to get the real firepower. I’m going to join them. But, I’ll help you get to the medical ward first. Follow me and don’t hesitate.” 

Lay knew that last sentence was directed at him since Suho wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. 

As if it were nothing Kai was walking down the stairs into the lower hallway. They were going to have to pass by the front door to get to their makeshift hospital. Lay imagined the front door was beyond compromised. Kai all but confirmed that. “You two are going to be cut off from the rest of us. Barricade the doors and hole yourself up in a room without windows.” Kai only stopped talking to pull the trigger to his gun three times as people Lay has never seen before rounded the corner. “Sehun is still in there and I think Tao is too. Don’t let them get hurt.” 

They neared the front door and could see Baekhyun leaning against the wall with Chanyeol next to him. They needed to get towards the offices. Which meant they’d also be passing right in front of the entrance to the mansion. It was easy to see the pair sweating, they were both nervous. It was eerie seeing Chanyeol in casual wear right now. He was only in a short sleeve white T-shirt with blue jeans. But it had been everyone’s “night off.” That much was obvious by the way Baekhyun was also without a shirt in his dark jeans. They were interrupted in the middle of something. Lay could note the angry red marks on Baekhyun’s chest and stomach in the same indentation of a human bite mark. At least Chanyeol seemed to take Lay’s suggestion of not breaking skin to heart. 

The pair wildly looked over at the trio. Lay could hear Kai whispering “ _How many bullets do you have left_?” The look on the pair’s faces made Lay’s stomach already sink. Chanyeol pursed his lips and Baekhyun actually frowned, able to read Kai’s lips. Baekhyun held up three fingers. Chanyeol only held up one. 

Kai nodded but glanced back at Suho and Lay. “Suho, I hope you can run.” Then he looked back at the couple on the other side of the hallway intersection. He held up his hand before counting down. Once Kai reached “zero” he darted out from around the corner and towards the front door, pulling the trigger two more times. Suho moved in front of Lay, firing his gun as well. Baekhyun and Chanyeol rounded the corner at the same time so they could all push through. 

There were about five men standing at the doorway. But they all went back out the front door when they saw the others making their advance. Suho and Lay broke off from the others to rush down an opposing hallway and into their medical wing. Once Lay was through the double doors he got to locking them and bolting them into place at the ceiling and floor. Then the pair were looking at the nurses station, which was empty. 

“Suho, go through the patient rooms, get everyone to the break room. I’ll search my office and the bathrooms.” 

The pair split off and Lay first darted over to the nurses station. He leaned over the counter, hearing a whimper as his head peaked over it. One of the female nurses was curled behind the station, trembling. “ _Hey, hey, hey. It’s just me._ ” Lay tried to calm her, and she finally looked up at him and let out a heavy exhale. But she flinched at the sound of more gunshots. “Go to the break room and don’t leave there. Suho is going to be bringing the others there as well.” The young woman nodded as she stood up, about to dart for the breakroom. “Wait!” She froze at Lay’s raised voice. “Actually, go grab a first aid kit as well as some extra bandages.”  
“Yes sir!” The woman managed to get out as she went to do as she was told. 

Lay watched the girl run down the same hallway Suho turned down. The sound of gunshots spurred him onwards towards the closest door, his office. The door was locked. He swore under his breath before he threw his body against the door until he forced it open. A gunshot forced Lay backwards out of the office. 

“I won’t miss next time!”  
“ _Shit! Tao!_ It’s just me! Lay!”  
“Lay?”  
“That’s what I said!”  
“ _Sorry._ ” 

Lay stepped back into his office, finding Tao standing behind his desk the pistol still aimed at the door. Tao looked like the Tao Lay met years ago. But when he saw Lay alone he lowered the gun and Lay could see the exhaustion return to his features. It was then that he finally noticed Sehun peeking out from behind the desk. The lanky man rose to his feet, the tremors in his hands were obvious even from across the room. 

The two took note of Lay’s appearance. The pair were fully dressed, after all. Well, Sehun was more in lounging clothes, sweat pants and a hoodie. Meanwhile Tao looked expensive as usual, which Lay was glad he was at least back to familiar habits. The white shirt he wore had a deep collar that hung a little low on him. The brown coat he had on him covered the dark marks still on his arms. 

“Do you know where the break room is?”  
“I do,” Sehun finally spoke up after blinking a few times.  
“Go there. Suho is trying to round everyone up in there to ride things out.”  
“Okay.” Tao was already rounding the desk to leave the office, looking back at Sehun who was moving a lot slower.  
“Have you seen Luhan?” Sehun’s eyes were borrowing into Lay’s.  
“No. Haven’t seen Kris either. Kai was the one that helped Suho and I get here. He’s helping Baekhyun and Chanyeol get to his office right now. Okay, it’s time to go, boys.” Lay was trying to hurry them along. Tao at least seemed to get the urgency and grabbed Sehun’s hand to drag him out if he had to. 

Lay went through the bathrooms next, trying to find anyone hiding inside. He didn’t want anyone getting left behind. So after not finding anyone he still went into each patient room. After finding no one else he finally went to the break room. Knocking on the door before he entered, knowing Suho and Tao may be trigger happy. “It’s me.” 

He could hear the door unlock before it was slowly opened by Tao. Lay slipped inside the room, shutting the door behind him and locking it. 

The break room was surprisingly large, but this was Kris’s mansion. So, it shouldn’t come as such a surprise. Next to the door was a kitchen area where there was fridge, microwave, coffee machine, a flat screen TV on the wall and a bar with barstools where the nurses can eat their meals on their breaks. But the rest of the room was a spacious low lit room. There were two large couches and several recliners. At first Kris had a hard time finding people that were willing to agree to the risk of working for them. So many nurses were forced to pull double shifts, getting naps in while they could. 

The nurses and the anesthesiologist were all the couches, huddled together. Well, one of the nurses, a middle aged woman, was forcing Suho to sit down in one of the recliners. She used to be an ER nurse, so she’s seen a little bit of everything. And… She didn’t put up with Suho’s stubborn attitude, which led to Lay assigning her to him when he had to be around the nurses 24/7. 

Sehun was sitting in a recliner, his knees pulled up to his chest as his arms were wrapped around him. He was the one that was stuck with Jihyun the longest, which left him rattled. So it wasn’t surprising to see him looking like a child right now. Tao was sitting on the arm rest of the same chair, looking down at Sehun, trying to talk to him. Sehun seemed to be responding, but he didn’t look up at Tao. Lay was actually thankful that Tao felt like he had to take care of Sehun. It got Tao out of his own mind and considering the time he’s spent with Jihyun as well. The two had an unspoken understanding. 

Lay was able to ignore the muffled gunshots as he crossed the room to first check on Suho who was insisting he was fine. The nurse looked at Lay with a tired expression. He put the safety on his pistol and slipped it between his pants and the small of his back. “I don’t know how you deal with him on daily basis.”  
“He’s like wine… An acquired taste,” Lay responded with a smile, trying to lighten the terrible situation they were in.  
“I thought you hated wine?” The woman asked with a raised brow.  
“I do.”  
“I am right here,” Suho sighed as the two shared a light laugh. 

“I know. Let me see if you busted a stitch. _Again._ ” Lay finally looked down at Suho who did not seem amused. “Lean back,” Lay instructed and was thankful when Suho did as he was asked. 

Lay’s hands deftly unwrapped the bandaging around Suho’s midsection. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw the red stains on the first two layers of bandages. He let out a knowing sigh as he continued to completely unwrap the bandages. Sure enough, a stitch was busted open. “ _Oh,_ Suho.” Lay rubbed his forehead before he looked at Suho, wishing this would stop. This was the third time he’s busted a stitch. Lay was at least thankful Suho didn’t argue and make excuses. The man only frowned in response. 

The muffled gunshots got more intense than pistol shots. “Sounds like Chanyeol got to his rifles,” Suho commented and Lay nodded in response. “Hopefully they’ll be able to wrap this coup up.” Lay wasn’t bothering with responding to that, he was focused on what was in front of him. 

“Don’t get out of this chair until all this is over, okay? I can’t replace the stitch until it’s over. So, don’t make it worse.” The serious expression on Lay’s face indicated he was in his “working” mode. This left Suho nodding along as Lay rewrapped the bandages. 

After checking on Suho Lay walked over to his staff to make sure they were all uninjured and okay. They were shaken, but unharmed. Then Lay walked over to Tao and Sehun. “You two okay?” Both of them seemed to blink out of the daze they were in before looking over to Lay. Tao looked back down at Sehun who took a moment to answer. 

“I’m fine. Nervous is all…”  
“Yeah, I’m in the same boat,” Tao agreed as he scratched at one of his arms.  
“Suho thinks Chanyeol and the others finally got to the rifles. Surely things will be cleared up soon.” Lay tried to offer them some comfort, but he wasn’t sure if it took. 

The loud crashing sound that was a little too close for comfort caused him to fail. 

Immediately, Lay pulled the pistol from his waistband and turned the safety off. He glanced over at Suho and saw him trying to sit up. “Suho, what did I say?” The lower tone Lay used stopped him in his tracks. The staff were all looking back at Lay, looking for instruction. It was strange for him to feel like he was in charge in a situation like this. But ultimately, he was responsible for everyone here. “Get behind the couches and everyone be quiet.” 

They all did as they were told. 

Lay held the pistol with both of his hands, still keeping it pointed at the ground, as he watched the door. 

About six long minutes passed before there was a knocking on the door. Lay could hear Sehun shuffling in the chair behind him, but he could also hear Tao shushing him. No one else made a sound. Lay raised the pistol towards the door, waiting… 

The door groaned as what Lay assumed to be a foot collided with it. It happened a few times before the door finally gave in and fell off the hinges and into the room. Lay waited for someone to peak through the door as everyone held their breath. A foot stepped through the doorway. Finally the person attached to said foot walked through. 

Lay didn’t recognize him. He was holding a pistol and he started to raise it when he finally noticed the men in the corner of the room. Lay didn’t hesitate. He pulled the trigger and the person dropped, along with Lay’s heart. He was taught how to shoot by Kai, afterall. Kai taught him how to be accurate. 

He inched forward along the wall, waiting for another person to peer through the door. No one else did. 

Once he reached the door, he actually peaked around corner. He saw another man he didn’t recognize. 

The trigger was pulled again. Another body dropped. There was some yelling closer towards the nurses station, so Lay crept down the hallway. He could see the large double doors had been broken down, explaining how the intruders got in. He could hear the rifles firing closer towards the front doors of the mansion. The gunfire drew the intruders attention. Lay watched four men come into view. 

They haven’t noticed him yet. 

Three shots were precise. 

The fourth hit it’s target, but in the chest since he was already trying to hop over the counter of the nurses station. 

Lay could hear him cry out as he hit the floor, so Lay quickly rounded around the counter. The man was grabbing his pistol that he must’ve dropped when he hit the ground, so Lay pulled the trigger once again. 

It was so quiet in that moment. Or maybe it was because Lay’s ears were still ringing. 

He felt eyes on him, so he looked over to the broken doors, aiming his pistol at them. But he saw Kris and Luhan standing there instead. They both seemed surprised, having witnessed what Lay did. Or, the fact that there were dead bodies around him. That didn’t help. Either way, Lay lowered the weapon. 

“Where’s-” Kris started, but Lay pointed down the hall towards the break room. The two men went rushing off towards it, calling out for their respective lovers. 

Lay let out a heavy sigh as he leaned against the counter. His legs were shaking and his chest was heaving. But he’d stand guard here, even if he didn’t hear anymore gunshots. Kyungsoo was the first one to peak through the doorway again. Lay, once more, raised his weapon at him, but upon realizing who he was, he lowered it. That was when Kyungsoo came into the medical wing, Kai’s arm around his shoulders. It was awkward because of the height, but Kyungsoo was helping the man stand. It was easy to see that he was wounded due to the lack of a shirt on him. There were a few lacerations on his chest, his knuckles were busted. There was a gunshot wound on his right shoulder and a laceration on his side where a bullet grazed him. Kyungsoo seemed uninjured. 

Lay pursed his lips as he stood up straight, putting the safety on his pistol and putting it away once more. If Kai was this injured, how badly were the others? “Kyungsoo, what’s the situation outside of here?” Lay asked as he took Kai away from Kyungsoo, so that he was now supporting the man.  
“It’s over. A few of the soldiers are cleaning up house, making sure the invaders are dead. But… Lay, you’re going to be busy.” 

Lay sighed and nodded as he hauled Kai to the operating room. “Get my staff. Tell them it's time for them to get their heads in the game.” It was harsh, but this was part of the job description for working here. “Kai.”  
“Hm?”  
“I’m not going to put you under. I’ll give you a local anesthetic when I remove the bullet. But we’re doing this old fashioned to save time. Is that okay?” An amused sound left Kai’s lips as the two entered the operating room.  
“You ask me as if I have a choice.” Lay gave him quite the look and the darker man sighed before nodding. “Yeah, let’s get it over with.” 

Lay liked Kai as a patient. He was the perfect patient. He listened to Lay’s instructions, never complained. He hardly even flinched when Lay knew it had to hurt like hell and was quiet other than a few groans on occasion. It made for fast work. By the time Kyungsoo returned to their company with the rest of their staff Kai was already stitched up. So Lay was currently working on removing the bullet. The condensed metal made a clanking sound as Lay dropped it on the floor. He didn't bother to try and find somewhere better to put it since his nurses still weren’t at his side. Then Kai was getting stitched up once more. Kyungsoo was affectionately running his hand through his hair and holding his hand. Lay couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he was also whispering something to Kai. The surgeon didn’t bother on trying to figure it out either, giving the married couple their privacy. 

Once Lay finished, Kyungsoo was helping Kai off the table. Lay told a nurse to run the lovers through the antibiotics Kai would be on, as well as warnings to not strain himself. Both men actually listened to the nurse as they walked out of the OR. 

Lay knew the easiest task of the night was finished. It was only going to get worse as the other members showed. 

He ran his hand through his hair as the spooked nurses looked at him for direction. “Melissa, I want you to go to the break room and replace a stitch Suho busted. Your handwork is closest to mine. Also, tell Kris and the others I want them to search the mansion for others that are wounded and to bring them here. Then get back in here.” The girl was nodding along with Lay’s instruction until he mentioned Kris, then her eyes went wide.  
“You want me to tell Kris… What to do?”  
“No, I want you to tell Kris what I told him to do.” Lay didn’t mean to snap at the girl, but he didn’t have time for these kinds of questions. So, hesitantly the woman nodded and did as she was asked. 

Everyone else in the OR got to cleaning up the room and making sure they were all going to be prepared for surgeries. Another nurse went to fetch a shirt for him. Lay even went as far as talking with Melissa when she came back about stitching up smaller wounds while he focused on larger ones. They were going to have to get everyone in and out of here like clock work. 

Soon Kris and Tao came into the OR, Kris was helping Chanyeol in while Baekhyun was being helped by Tao. 

They didn’t look too bad, all things considered. 

Lay went to glance over them to see who was in the worst condition. But Chanyeol was speaking up in a gruff voice, “Take care of Baekhyun first.” Lay wasn’t surprised, but he nodded and went to help Tao lift the smaller man on the table. 

Baekhyun’s left eye was already swelling and bruised, looking like he got hit rather hard. But otherwise it seemed like he wasn’t near as bad as Chanyeol. He seemed dazed, but there were some lacerations from knife wounds it seemed. Those could be taken care of easily, especially since there would be two sets of hands stitching him up. 

Then the man was taken off the table and led to a room in the medical ward by some nurses. Lay wanted the nurses to keep an eye on him just in case he had a concussion. 

Kris and Tao were both trying to hold Chanyeol up the entire time. As Lay finally took the time to look him over he realized he was probably going to need a blood transfusion. His white shirt was no longer white, instead it was coated in sweat and blood. Lay assumed some of the blood wasn’t his own anyways, but Lay wasn’t fond of taking risks when it came to others. 

It was a struggle to get Chanyeol’s long body onto the operating table. They had to cut the shirt off of him to reach most of his injuries. It was clear he got shot a few times, a few of his knuckles were busted, and there were several lacerations scattered around his body. But the more distressing cut was the one on the left side of his neck. It appears that someone got a little too close to slitting his throat for comfort. 

Kris and Tao were edging themselves towards the door, unsure what to do with themselves. “Please stay, you two. When we are done with Chanyeol I’ll need your help getting him to the same room as Baekhyun.” Lay spoke without looking up from Chanyeol as he administered local anesthetics. The two stopped trying to leave and instead hovered by the door. 

Lay could feel himself sweating as he began to work on Chanyeol. He was thankful that Chanyeol seemed tired enough to not move as much as he typically would when getting stitched up. Well, that and Melissa’s help. The most difficult part was making sure Chanyeol’s knuckles were all in proper alignment so they could heal properly. Either way, Lay still wrapped his hands. 

“Kris... Tao.” Lay looked up from Chanyeol and the other two tall men rushed over to the table. They helped Chanyeol off of it and to the room Baekhyun was in. Lay was instructing another nurse to get an IV started on Chanyeol. He also told her to give him a transfusion of A blood and four milligrams of morphine to ease his pain. 

They managed to get Chanyeol off the table before Luhan was bursting through the door with Jongdae on his arm. “Lay!” Everyone froze to look up. Jongdae was only in some PJ shorts, much like Lay was earlier. He was covered in blood, but seemed to be conscious and alert, which was a good sign considering how he looked. Luhan did look a little panicked. But he was looking away from Lay to turn to look behind him as Sehun came inside, supporting Xiumin. Xiumin looked far worse than Jongdae. 

His head lulled against Sehun’s shoulder, his brown hair was matted with blood. Much like Jongdae, he was only in a pair of pants. His right arm was clearly broken by the way it was unnaturally bent. His knuckles were busted, there was dark bruising around his neck, deep lacerations were on his chest, there was a burn on his left ear, as well as what appeared to be a grazed gunshot on his left arm. 

“Xiumin-” Kris looked like he was about to dart over to his old friend, but he realized he was helping Chanyeol stand.  
“Kris, help Tao get Chanyeol to his room. Then take care of business I’m sure you need to attend to.” Lay was quick to remind Kris what to do before looking to the four that first entered the room. “Get Xiumin on the table and start looking over Jongdae to see how bad his wounds are.” Lay turned to his nurses and started to give the orders. He promptly looked at the anesthesiologist who was idling until now. “We’re putting him under.” 

Sehun was walking past Jongdae and Luhan as he more so carried Xiumin over to the operating table. As soon as Xiumin was in Jongdae’s sight his hazy eyes focused on him and him alone. With Lay’s help he was able to get the man on the table. Lay went straight to work on getting an IV started in on his left arm. When the needle pierced Xiumin’s skin his half lidded eyes opened wider before he looked over at Lay. They were glassed over and his pupils were like pinpricks. His chest began rising and falling at an alarming rate as his eyes began to dart over to the nurses looking down at him. 

“He’s panicking, put him under.” Lay instructed the anesthesiologist. Before he could try to soothe Xiumin he was trying to move his right arm, crying out in pain with a raspy voice as he did so. Some nurses were gasping as Jongdae pushed a few of them to the side to slam his hands against the table to support himself. One of his blood soaked hands went to cup Xiumin’s face. 

“I’m here. You’re okay. You’re okay,” Jongdae spoke quickly and Xiumin’s eyes went to his face. Luhan was starting to grab Jongdae’s arm to pull him away, but Jongdae gripped onto the table even more firmly. Lay’s lips were pursed, but allowed the exchange, waiting for Xiumin to fall unconscious. 

Jongdae kept muttering about how he was there for Xiumin. But it only took about ten seconds before Lay was more than certain Xiumin was unconscious. “Jongdae..” Jongdae finally stopped and looked up at Lay. “Go sit down with Luhan and Sehun. I’ll get to you once we are done with him.” Jongdae swallowed before nodding and reaching for Luhan to get help moving out of everyone’s way. 

Lay first set Xiumin’s arm, in the corner of his eye he could see Jongdae flinch at the sound. He ignored the hurt in his heart as he got to stitching Xiumin up with Melissa. Due to the help Lay had, they were able to fix him up as quickly as possible. There was already a bag of B blood hanging from the IV pole for Xiumin. Once they finished the operation he was instructing them to add a bag of morphine for when they start wake him up. 

Then he was getting moved onto a hospital bed that was wheeled in for him. 

“Jongdae.. You’re up,” Lay sounded exhausted as he addressed his friend without looking away from the operating table. 

When Jongdae was brought up Lay could see that Luhan and Sehun cleaned him up as much as they could, making it far easier to see what injuries he actually had. Much like Chanyeol his knuckles were broken and busted. There was a large laceration on his leg, it seemed like there were was a bullet slug in Jongdae’s chest, several small cuts were on his face and neck, along with several lacerations on his arms. 

Jongdae didn’t need to be put under, or so Lay decided. Lay only gave him a local anesthetic and began to stitch him up and remove the bullet in his chest. Then Jongdae was taken to the room that Xiumin was being held in. 

Lay only wished he was done. He had more people to stitch up, more bullets to remove. The soldiers that made up a bulk of Kris’s force had injuries that needed to be tended to as well. 

Three more hours passed. Then finally, Lay finished up. 

The sun was already up and Lay was beyond exhausted. His clothes were drenched in sweat and he asked his nurses to get him a change a clothes. He dragged his feet as he walked out of the OR, washing his hands before he left the room, then he made his way to the break room. Suho was still there in the same chair, looking at his phone with tired eyes. 

Lay fell into the chair next to Suho, causing the older man to jump. “Lay, are you alright?”  
“ _So tired…_ ” Lay muttered as he curled up into the recliner, having it lean back as much as possible. Suho didn’t respond. He only crawled out the chair he was in and joined Lay in the one he was in. 

It wasn’t comfortable as they were both far too big for the one chair. But it was comforting to Lay to be tangled up in Suho. 

_\----_

Hunger woke Lay back up. 

He only had something brought to him so he didn’t have to leave the medical ward. But at this point he and Suho moved to stay in Lay’s office. 

They had about an hour of peace before Luhan came into the office, pausing when he saw the pair curled up together. Suho was the one to pull away from Lay and sit up properly on the couch in the back of the office. Lay reluctantly sat up as well as Luhan leaned against the back of one leather chairs in front of Lay’s desk. 

“Well, they’ve managed to finally clean up the bodies and blood…” Luhan started with and Lay and Suho only sighed in response. At least the mansion is relatively clean now. “Kris is having people come in to do repairs, and he’s going to hire more temporary nurses so that you can rest more, Lay.” 

The pair nodded at Luhan’s words, Suho was more grateful than Lay was since he’d strain himself if he had to. “What about the attack?” Suho asked, wanting to get to the meat of everything.  
“We were attacked en masse, obviously. Luckily… We survived with minor casualties, albeit with lots of wounded.”  
“Is it over?” Lay asked as he rubbed his forehead, still exhausted. 

There was a long moment of silence from Luhan before he finally nodded. 

“ _It’s over._ ” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _*1950's game show host voice*_  
>  Will this be the last depressing chapter of Sheep Among Wolves to end out the year? Or will the anxiety and depression continue into 2018? 
> 
> Stay tuned to find out!


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I'd like to apologize for the confusion of me re-uploading chapter nine. Ao3 has been acting up for me lately.

Luhan was right. 

It was actually over.

The coup was over.

Everyone was slowly healing, one way or the other. 

Lay was curled up with Suho in their bed, thankful that Suho’s stitches were out. At least he didn’t have to worry about Suho as much on top of everything else. His legs were tangled up around one of Suho’s legs as his arms wrapped around the man’s torso. He was so tired, but he couldn’t sleep. Suho wasn’t asleep either. Lay could tell by the way he’d let out a heavy exhale instead of his usual soft breathing. 

“Suho?”  
“ _Hm?_ ”  
“Can I ask you a… I don’t know… Rude question? Or-”  
“What is it, Lay?”  
“I-...” Lay paused, unsure if he even wanted to ask this question, considering it was a middle of the night thought. “Is this all worth it?”

Suho shifted in Lay’s grasp, his hand moving from Lay’s bare back to help himself sit up some in bed. Lay let go of Suho so he could move. When he looked up at the man he could see concern etched into his face, even in the darkness in the bedroom. “Is what worth it?”

“ _This._ ” Lay gestured around them with one hand, _everything._ “This lifestyle. The violence… The everything.” 

_Silence._

“Lay, what are you saying?” Suho’s hand went to cup Lay’s cheek as he spoke. The way he looked at Lay was intimate. Those dark eyes were so full of concern and love. His touch was hesitant yet ressauring. 

“Is this lifestyle worth it? It’s not sustainable, Suho. People don’t die of old age in this business. Yeah, the money is great… But.. Haven’t you made enough? I can’t even spend all I have in the bank. I don’t… I know you and I know your loyalty to Kris. But I-.. I-... I can’t watch you die. I can’t watch the family die. I can’t-”

“ _Lay._ ” Suho interrupted when Lay’s voice began to crack and it was clear he couldn’t catch a breath. Lay only shook his head in response. “ _Hey, hey, hey… Take a breath._ ” Suho let go of Lay’s face to pull him into a tight embrace. 

Lay clung onto Suho’s abdomen as he nestled his head in Suho’s neck. He was inhaling that Earthy scent he loved so much while he tried to calm down. 

“I wish I could promise you it’d be okay. But I don’t know, Lay.” Suho’s voice was so soft, even for how the pair typically spoke to each other this late. “I-... I won’t leave, Lay. Kris won’t retire because if he retires some young punk will take over and ruin everything he’s built. So I’ll stay until no one in this family is left.”

Lay looked at Suho’s rising and falling chest, trying to keep his expression as neutral as he possibly could. But it was difficult to hide all the frustration and apprehension away. “Lay… If you want to leave, I won’t stop you.”

Lay swallowed, _hard_. 

He didn’t want to look up and see Suho, he truly didn’t. The last thing he wanted to see was Suho’s potential heartbreak. But he reluctantly pulled his face away from the crook of Suho’s neck so he could properly see his face. Sure enough, there was the pain in his eyes, fear even. That Lay may leave the family to get out of this business, go on the straight and narrow. It was something Lay has been contemplating. He wanted to leave. He already had enough blood on his hands and it was likely he was going to end up having more as time passed.

Lay didn’t respond to what Suho said. He merely gave him a kiss before laying his head back down on his shoulder to try and sleep.

\----

Everyone healed over the next few months and business was returning to normal.

Kris was establishing his dominance over the city. Once again, he was finding himself the uncontested kingpin of the city.

There were no family members currently under Lay’s care. It was finally giving Lay time to be alone in his office and think. 

Another month passed.

Nothing changed.

Lay was still spending time alone in his office daily. But otherwise he did check on Sehun and Tao, making sure they were okay. 

He was sitting at his desk, rubbing his temples in thought. 

He still asked if it was worth it every single day. Was this worth being a killer?

A soft knock on the door drew Lay out of his own thoughts. “Come in,” He called out as he sat up properly in his chair, expecting a nurse or Suho. 

Kyungsoo walked in, instead.

Immediately Lay rose to his feet out of respect for the man, but Kyungsoo was quickly holding out a hand. “No, please, that’s not necessary. I’m coming here informally, as a friend.” 

It felt a little awkward, but Lay nodded and sat back down in his seat as Kyungsoo took a seat across from him.

“So… What’s the occasion for a social visit?” Lay asked as a corner of his lips curled up into a slight smile.  
“Well, things have settled down and all has been quiet for a while.. So Kai and I were thinking it’s about time to finally have a small ceremony,” Kyungsoo started and Lay’s eyes widened.  
“Really???”  
“Yeah, ah… It’s going to be this weekend. A little short notice, but Kai wanted to get it done before anything came up.”  
“That sounds like him,” Lay couldn’t help but to let out a slight chuckle and Kyungsoo gave him a handsome smile. “I know you two are already married, but I’m happy for you both.” Kyungsoo’s smile grew at Lay’s words.  
"Thank you, Lay. We’re all incredibly grateful that you stumbled into this family. I especially know Suho is. To be honest, I know he looks at you the same way I look at Kai.” 

Lay didn’t know how to respond to Kyungsoo’s words. It was a kindness he hadn’t expected. So he simply looked down as a soft smile appeared. “You’re too kind.”

\-----

Saturday afternoon Lay found himself standing in the spacious backyard of the mansion. Suho next to him as Kai and Kyungsoo exchanged vows. There was a faint smile painted on his lips the entire time. He was happy for the two, truly. 

Suho’s hand took his own and their fingers interlocked. Lay took to leaning into the shorter man a little bit more. He could hear Suho let out a little content sigh.

It was in that moment that Lay decided he could never leave this family. 

That they were worth it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, kiddies. 
> 
> I honestly considered adding more to this chapter since it felt so short. But after reading it over, I've decided that I prefer this short and sweet version. So I'll leave it here with a hopeful and open ending.
> 
> SO! Now that this series is complete it's time to move onto something new, yeah? 
> 
> If you have anything EXO related you want to see me write, just leave a comment below! Any AU/Non AU ideas, pairings, etc. =]  
> Of course, I won't promise I will use your suggestion just while we are being realistic here. But hey, I just might! ;]
> 
> Now, on a more serious note. I'd like to thank everyone who has read this, given it kudos, and commented. Seriously, you all incredible human beings that made this feel so much more special than what it is. 
> 
> Much love!
> 
>  
> 
> _P.S. Here is one final aesthetic from the lovely[KimCharmaine!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KimCharmaine)_
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/151410050@N07/38645471665/in/dateposted-public/)  
> 


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